Bringing The Mountaintop to Broadway

Producers of the play The Mountaintop are aiming to bring it to Broadway next fall, which interests me for two reasons.

The subject of Katori Hall's play: the Rev. Martin Luther King. Jr. on the last night of his life, sounds fascinating. Here's an interview with Hall from 2008, where she talks about what led her to write it.

The title comes from King's stirring and prophetic final speech, delivered at a Memphis church on April 3, 1968:

"Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!"

What surprises me is that The Mountaintop had its world premiere in London last summer. It was praised by the critics, including the very discerning West End Whingers, and has received an Olivier nomination for Best New Play. (Update 3-21: In an upset, The Mountaintop won the Olivier for Best New Play!)

London?

Why did a play by an American writer about such an important American subject have to go across the Atlantic Ocean to get produced?

That just seems astounding to me and a little sad. (Apparently there was some kind of in-development reading at the Lark Theatre in New York.)

Why couldn't Hall get The Mountaintop commercially produced in the United States? Is there something about London that makes theatre producers salivate, that gives a play a little extra cachet?

I found an interview with Hall from the London theatre Web site What's on Stage, and maybe this is part of the answer:

"I would love to work here again. The space for new writing is much much bigger here. New writing is much more respected. It seems like there’s a bigger space for it ..."

Here's the trailer from The Mountaintop:



My guess is the play, which has only two characters, King and a maid at the Lorraine Motel, will be re-cast with American actors.

I'd like to nominate Tony winner Jeffrey Wright, who's already portrayed the civil-rights leader in the HBO movie Boycott. Just my 2 cents but he's about the right age and I think he'd be a great choice.

What's in a theatre name?

One of the byproducts of becoming a theatre fan is that I've developed a keen interest in - you might even say a fascination with - the names of theatre companies. The quirkier and funnier the better. I especially love references to forgotten places or obscure literary characters.

So whenever I come across a name that I like, I think about assembling a list and blogging about them. Then, I forget about it. But the Fourth of July weekend is here, theatre news is light and the blogging is easy.

Now, I haven't gone searching for these - I've just come across them in everyday Google-ing or reading up on theatre-related news. I'm sure there are others I've come across and forgotten about. But these are some of my favorites:

Tricycle: Based in London, I first heard of this theatre as a producer of The 39 Steps. It just seems so fitting that a very funny Hitchcock homage would be connected with a word that also makes me smile. Tricycle "aims to be a successful and accessible theatre, cinema and art gallery providing an artistic programme of the highest quality that attracts and reflects the culturally diverse local community."

Menier Chocolate Factory: The idea of seeing a show in a converted London chocolate factory circa 1870 sounds incredibly scrumptious. I wonder if they sell Menier chocolate at the concession stand? If they don't, they should! And from the description, the building sounds awesome - it still has its original exposed wooden beams, cast-iron columns and brick interior.

Single Carrot: This one's in Baltimore and I found it on the blogroll of Katie Ganem, who writes Theatreisms. The name comes from something the French painter Paul Cezanne once said: "The day is coming when a single carrot, freshly observed, will set off a revolution." I'm not sure what he meant, but I like it. Single Carrot's goal is to "infuse theatre with new life while entertaining and educating our community with socially significant productions."

Hypocrites: Most people would not take being called a hypocrite as a compliment so I thought it was interesting that this Chicago theatre company would take the word as its name. Their mission is to "make a Theater of Honesty," which actually seems the opposite of hypocrisy. I'm really looking forward to seeing the Hypocrites' acclaimed production of Our Town in New York next month.

Remy Bumppo: Chicago has a lot of great theatre names. Steppenwolf, of course, I knew because I've read the novel. But this one escaped me. Turns out, it comes from two of the founders' pets: a dog named Natty Bumppo (from The Last of the Mohicans) and a cat named Remy, (after Remy Martin cognac.) The company "strives to delight and engage audiences with the emotional and ethical complexities of society through the provocative power of great theatrical language."

Pig Iron: This Philadelphia-based theatre company is "dedicated to the creation of new and exuberant performance works that defy easy categorization" using dance, drama, clowning, puppetry, music and text. I don't know where the name comes from, maybe the state's steelmaking heritage? I first heard of Pig Iron last fall when I read about one of its productions, the bizarrely titled Chekhov Lizardbrain. Just from the name alone, I wish I'd been able to see it.

I want more British coal miners on stage

I like the way Natasha Tripney, who blogs at Interval Drinks, writes about her favorite theatre moments of 2008 for The Guardian. She calls them "a non-linear clutter of the images that have left an impression on me in this 12-month window." What a terrific description!

I also decided to write about some of my favorite moments spent in the theatre in 2008, rather than assemble a list of my favorite shows. And this year, we have one in common - Black Watch - although she chooses a different moment from the play to highlight than I did. (But that's understandable because there are so many great ones.)

But what really caught my eye was a moment she mentions from another play that I'd love to see if it comes to New York: The Pitmen Painters, by Lee Hall, who wrote Billy Elliot. (It also made New Yorker theatre critic John Lahr's list of the top ten plays of 2008.)

The play is currently running at London's National Theatre, and here's a description from the Web site:

"In 1934, a group of Ashington miners hired a professor to teach an art appreciation evening class. Rapidly abandoning theory in favour of practice, the pitmen began to paint."

It sounds really interesting. I'm not sure how it would do with American audiences and I don't know if there are any plans for a Broadway transfer. But I'm hoping that Billy Elliot will whet the appetites of theatergoers for some more drama involving British coal miners, this time of the non-singing and non-dancing variety.

Vance's play bill

Over at Tapeworthy, Vance has a terrific roundup of the plays he's seen recently in New York and London.

Of the plays we've both seen, I mostly agree with his reviews, although I liked Dividing the Estate more than he did. But that's what makes for a great conversation!

Also, check out his New York by the Numbers. He saw 21 shows, Broadway and off-Broadway, for a grand total of $482.50 through a combination of rush, lottery and ushering. The last one is something I'd definitely love to try someday.

Letts in London

There's a good interview with playwright Tracy Letts at the online magazine MusicOMH, conducted by freelance journalist Natasha Tripney, who also blogs at Interval Drinks. You can read her review here.

Letts talks about bringing August: Osage County to the National Theatre in London for an eight-week run. He says that the Tony and Pulitzer-winning drama, which arrived with most of its Broadway cast intact, is "playing differently" in Britain, and one reason is the U.S. election.

“The world views America with a little more hope and optimism than it has in recent years and I think that changes the reading of the play. It might make it a bit of a period piece but it also makes the play serve as a kind of warning which I still think is very valuable."

Letts also talks about what it was like to have his father, Dennis Letts, appear in the play on Broadway, despite having been recently diagnosed with cancer. (He passed away in February.)

"It was strange, having him in my work place, but delightful, I’m glad we had that time together. He was fascinated by the process, to be around stage actors of this magnitude, of this skill level. Even though he’s only in the first fifteen minutes of the play he came to every rehearsal and watched everything. It was a great experience for him to have at the end of his life, I’m glad he got that chance to do it."

And Letts says that his new play, Superior Donuts, which had a run over the summer at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, will be coming to New York next year. As a big fan of August: Osage County, I was already hoping to see his next play. And an enthusiastic review from Steve on Broadway sealed the deal. This is on my must-see list for 2009.

There's much more to the interview, so check it out!

Theatre blogging - a discussion from London

If you're near your computer this afternoon, there's going to be a panel discussion on blogging and theatre criticism at the Royal Court Theatre in London starting at 6 p.m. GMT. (That's 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, if I've figured it out correctly.)

You can listen live online here. If you miss it, a recording of the session will be archived at the same spot. It's called "Brickbats in Cyberspace: How blogging is changing the landscape of theatre criticsm in London and beyond."

The panel will include Charles Spencer, lead theatre critic for The Daily Telegraph, Andrew Dickson, arts editor for The Guardian's Web site, Judith Dimant, producer of the theatre company Complicite, and leading bloggers and theatre professionals.

I don't know whether those witty and erudite bloggers the West End Whingers - also known and Andrew and Phil - will be participating, but there is a link to them on the Web site announcing the event, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

And thanks to The Mirror up to Nature for the tip.