Calvin M. Thompson and Marisa D. Hébert return to the Theatreworks stage, led by award-winning director, donnie l. betts, in this drama in which playwright Katori Hall imagines Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s last night at the Lorraine Motel, as a mysterious visitor comes to call. “The Mountaintop” runs Aug. 22 through Sept. 8, in the Dusty Loo Bon Vivant Theater at the Ent Center for the Arts.
For director donnie l. betts, this play “shows that MLK as we all are flawed human beings however we are capable of doing extraordinary things.” betts is an actor, writer and director who performed on Broadway in “The Gospel at Colonus” with Morgan Freeman and in many regional theater productions including over 13 seasons at the Denver Center Theater Company including 2019 immersive production “Between Us.” He has directed for the Aurora Fox, Curious Theatre, City Stage Ensemble, Eulipions Theatre and No Credits Productions.
The cast features two actors well known to Colorado Springs audiences. Los Angeles-based Calvin M. Thompson who stars as Martin Luther King, Jr. and local luminary Marisa D. Hébert who starts as King’s mysterious visitor, Camae. Hébert has recently performed at Theatreworks in “American Prom,” “Lysistrata” and “Amadeus,” as well as at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center in “ANNIE,” “9 to 5,” “Love, Loss, and What I Wore,” “In the Next Room” and “Little Shop of Horrors.” Thompson returns to Theatreworks after his turn as Walter Lee Younger in “A Raisin in the Sun,” as well as “Mary Stuart,” “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” and “Seven Guitars” in additional to national television and stage credits.
The design team includes Charles Packard (scenic), Kathy A. Perkins (lighting), Linda Morken (costumes), El Armstrong (sound and projections) and Steve Baglio (props).
Tickets to “The Mountaintop” may be purchased online at uccspresents.org or by phone at 719-255-3232. Performances begin Thursday, Aug. 22 and continue through Sunday, Sept. 8. Tickets begin at $20 for youth and $30 for adults, with student rush tickets available for $15 one hour before performance. UCCS students are always free. Evening performances are at 7:30 p.m. and weekend matinee performances are at 2 p.m.
Associated Events (all free)
- Pre-show chats with artists and scholars before every Thursday evening performance, 6:45-7:15 p.m.
- Thursday, August 22: donnie l. betts (director) and Charles Packard (scenic designer)
- Thursday, August 29
- Thursday, September 5
- Sunday Panel on the themes of THE MOUNTAINTOP: Sunday, August 25 12:30-1:30 p.m. with Paul Harvey, distinguished professor in the UCCS History Department and other guests.
- Talk backs with the actors following second and third Sunday performances on Sept. 1 and Sept. 8
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