(ASBURY PARK, NJ) -- Asbury Park Theater Company presents The Mountaintop by Katori Hall from May 10-19, 2024 at the Jersey Shore Arts Center. The Mountaintop examines Martin Luther King Jr.'s last night on earth, set entirely in Room 306 of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, TN. The play is Hall's fictional reimagining of what may have happened in that motel room on the night before MLK's assassination.

On April 3, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was in Memphis, Tennessee to speak on behalf of the Memphis sanitation workers who went on strike following the death of two workers crushed by a malfunctioning garbage truck. While there, he gave his famous "Mountaintop" speech.

MLK then retired to room 306, of the Lorraine Motel where he went to rest, contemplate his mission, and began to craft his next speech in his quest to promote civil rights and join a racially-divided nation. Shortly after entering the room, Camae, a beautiful motel maid delivers a cup of coffee to King and the rest of the night is better experienced than explained.

The play is directed by Jarrod Scott and stars Kyle Javon Blocker (Algonquin's Into The Woods) and MLK and Natalie Hayes-Scott (APTCo's American Son) 

Tickets are available for purchase online. Performances take place Friday, May 10 at 8:00, Saturday, May 11 at 8:00pm, Friday, May 17 at 8:00pm, Saturday, May 18 at 8:00pm, and Sunday, May 19 at 3:00pm. The Jersey Shore Arts Center is located at 66 S. Main Street in Ocean Grove, New Jersey. 

Asbury Park Theater Company is dedicated to creating and providing powerful, invigorating, and transformative professional theater and theater-arts education that inspires, celebrates and enriches our community. From new works, reimagined classics to provocative high-energy musical performances, the Asbury Park Theater Company is home to established, emerging and local professional theater artists.

Asbury Park Theater Company is a federally-recognized 501c(3), NJ Non-Profit Corporation.