A week before his assassination, King led a demonstration through downtown Memphis which resulted in the death of one reporter as well as a multitude of injuries and property damages.
The poor work conditions and pay the sanitation workers suffered angered the black community and encouraged them to speak out on the behalf of other issues concerning civil rights.
The conversation focuses on the fight for civil rights and reaches the climax when Camae reveals her true intentions for walking into King's motel room that night.
Forced to confront his fears, King tries to bargain and plead with Camae to give him more time, explaining that he needs to continue his work in the civil rights movement before he can go.
In the last minutes, King has a vision filled with significant names that grab the "baton" to continue the fight for civil rights, events that further the cause, as well as accomplishments that have been made in the future.
Martin Luther King Jr. finishes his vision with a monologue to motivate people to continue the fight for civil rights in the hope that one day we will reach the Promised Land on Earth, ending the play with him handing on the baton to whoever is willing to take it next.
Immediately, Hall received backlash from readers and the Black community, but she did not back down stating, "A warts-and-all portrayal of Dr. King is important because there's this extraordinary human being who is actually quite ordinary.
The reasoning behind why Hall's mother could not go to see Martin Luther King give one of his last speeches was explained as such, "Big Mama ... was like, 'You know they're gon' bomb that church, girl.
With this knowledge, Hall created the idea of The Mountaintop, and named the maid which King discusses his life with after her mother, Carrie Mae.
The production was directed by James Dacre, produced by Marla Rubin and featured British actors David Harewood and Lorraine Burroughs.
[6] The Independent wrote that the production at Theatre503 was "an imaginative portrayal" and shows "a relationship that is breathtaking, hilarious and heart-stopping in its exchanges and in its speedy ability to reveal character and pull the audience into the ring.
"[8] Theater critic Charles Spencer in The Daily Telegraph wrote of the production at Trafalgar Studios "It is a beautiful and startling piece, beginning naturalistically before shifting gear into something magical, spiritual and touching.
[12] Geva Theatre Center in Rochester, NY produced the play from March 31 – April 26, 2015 starring Royce Johnson and Joniece Abbott-Pratt and directed by Skip Greer.
An L.A. Theatre Works touring production of the play ran from January through April 2018, starring Gilbert Glenn Brown and Karen Malina White.
The production was directed by Shirley Jo Finney and toured 38 cities, beginning in Wenatchee, WA, and ending in Lexington, Virginia.
[17] In 2019, the Fondation des Etats-Unis situated in Paris, France hosted a performance of The Mountaintop by Katori Hall, directed by Fatima Cadet-Diaby, Artistic Director and Founder of Loline Stage & Film.
The performance included French subtitles created by the students of the MA in Audiovisual Translation at Paris Nanterre University, under the supervision of Suzanne Dignan, Associate Professor in English linguistics.
Recorded in Los Angeles before a live audience at the James Bridges Theater, UCLA, in May 2016, the performance was directed by Roger Guenveur Smith and starred Larry Powell and Aja Naomi King.