Katori Hall’s play won the Olivier Award for best play, over such heavyhitting contenders as Jerusalem, Enron and Red. Quite a pedigree. I will say that, as a play, I enjoyed Jerusalem much more. Taste is so subjective…
The Mountaintop is full of spoilers, so I’ll try not to spill any secrets. It takes place in a hotel in Memphis, in April 1968, after Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech, and the only two characters in the play are King and a hotel maid. The stars are Samuel L Jackson and Angela Bassett. I believe your imaginations are churning now, yes?
The play runs an intermission-less 90 minutes, and I have to admit I was only engaged for maybe half that amount of time. Dramaturgically, I understand what the playwright is trying to do, but I just don’t think she’s entirely successful. Plus, and God knows I love me some Angela Bassett, but oh my, she is just overplaying the sh*t out of this part. If she pulled back a bit, especially at the beginning, maybe I could’ve gotten engaged sooner.
Having said that, I will say that about halfway through, once we get the BIG secret of the play, I did find myself very connected to what Samuel L Jackson was doing. The dialogue and the relationship between the two characters during this stretch of the play was quite compelling to me. Then, once we got to the big ‘phone call,’ the playwright lost me again. But the last ten minutes or so of the play are sublime and I was weeping. So…there you have it.
I liked the idea of having a play about King the man, instead of King the myth, but the playwright is trying to have it both ways, I think, and that’s where she’s unsuccessful. But Samuel L Jackson is really terrific and he’s pretty successful playing both sides of the man. He’s charming and humble, yet not. There’s a stillness that he achieves that is quite beautiful and he captures the dignity and uncertainty of a man in the midst of the maelstrom of history. I really hope we get to see Jackson do more stage work. I will consider all of my problems with Angela Bassett mostly the fault of the director, and a little bit the fault of the playwright, but will continue to love Angela from now until the end of time. J
So…I would say that if you are interested in seeing some compelling moments featuring Samuel L Jackson in perhaps an incomplete theatrical experience, then check out The Mountaintop. I wish I had liked it more, but I was intermittently moved, and that is always a happy thing. To me, anyway. I know others’ mileage may vary.
Random musings: I've been reading some of my favorite blogs lately, and several of the bloggers have gotten really interesting jobs, thanks to their blogs. Hmmmm. Is that the goal? Start blogging to get a really interesting job? I wonder. What kind of job could I get, if more than ten people were reading my blog?? Something to think about... ;) But congrats to all my favorite bloggers!
I had a dream last night that I got fired, because I demanded an extra $250 a year for my salary. OK. Seriously. That is weird. Clearly, I'm having anxiety about something...but what?!?! Reading my favorite blogs while in the office? Another interesting job coming my way due to my blog? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Dream Dictionary, here I come.
Why I Need a Boyfriend. Uh, no reason, really. But it would be nice to have someone bring me something from Starbucks every now and again (I am reminded of this as an office chum's boyfriend brings him coffee). Oh, and open the stuck jars out of my pantry. And kill the dam* waterbugs in my apartment. And get my holiday china off the top shelf. Perhaps what I really need is a personal assistant. Can I ask an office intern to get me coffee? Something to think about for 2012...
Upcoming via auto-post: favorite things of 2011, crappy year though it was in many respects. God love auto-post. But to finish off for today, here is a photo of my holiday poinsettia. Enjoy the last few days before Christmas!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment