Author Description

<i>The Mountaintop </i>is published here as a Methuen Drama Student Edition, featuring notes and commentary by Harvey Young, Dean of the College of Fine Arts, Boston University, USA. The introduction offers a discussion of key themes including race, identity, politics, magical realism, one-act plays, historical figures and martyrs.<br/><br/><i>The night before his assassination, Martin Luther King, Jr. retires to room 306 in the now-famous Lorraine Motel after giving an acclaimed speech to a massive church congregation. When a mysterious young maid visits him to deliver a cup of coffee, King is forced to confront his past and the future of his people.</i><br/><br/>Portraying rhetoric, hope and ideals of social change, <i>The Mountaintop </i>also explores being human in the face of inevitable death. The play is a dramatic feat of daring originality, historical narration and triumphant compassion.