Theater News

Anika Noni Rose to Appear at William Inge Festival Reading of The Mountaintop

Anika Noni Rose
(© Tristan Fuge)
Anika Noni Rose
(© Tristan Fuge)

Tony Award winner Anika Noni Rose will appear in a concert reading of Katori Hall’s play The Mountaintop on April 23 at the William Inge Theatre Festival at Independence Community College. Chay Yew will direct the performance.

Set in Memphis on April 3, 1968, the play focuses on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. just after he has returned to the Lorraine Motel after delivering his stirring speech “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” to a church congregation. The play imagines an encounter that he has with hotel maid, whose identity is puzzling, which leads him to confront his past and his legacy. The show, which won the Olivier Award for Best New Play, is scheduled to arrive on Broadway next season.

Rose won a Tony Award for her performance in Caroline or Change and also starred on Broadway in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Her film and television credits include Disney’s The Princess and the Frog, Dreamgirls, and The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency.

The Festival, which runs April 21-24, will honor Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel, and will include performances of her works, such as A Civil War Christmas, to be directed by Mark Brokaw.

For further information, visit: www.ingefestival.org.