The Mountaintop digital Playbill

By Katori Hall

THE MOUNTAINTOP is presented by special arrangement with Broadway Licensing, LLC, servicing the Dramatists Play Service collection. (dramatists.com)

This project has been made possible by grants from the Alabama State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment on the Arts.

Supported in part by the Huntsville City Arts & Cultural Grant Fund, a program of the City of Huntsville and Arts Huntsville, Inc.

The Mountaintop is performed in One Act, with no intermission.

The Time & Place

Time: April 3, 1968

Place: Room 306 at the Lorraine Motel | Memphis, TN

Synopsis

The night before his assassination, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. returns to the Lorraine Motel after delivering his last impassioned speech, I’ve Been to the Mountaintop. A mysterious maid delivers his room service, though she seems to have more on her agenda than a simple meal. As their conversation progresses, true intentions come to light in a story written to humanize Dr. King, to help us understand that you don’t have to be superhuman to be a hero. 

Trashonda Bernard-Cartwright | Camae

Trashonda is very honored to be a part of The Mountaintop with Theatre Huntsville. She is born and raised in Huntsville, Alabama. She graduated from Athens State University with her Accounting degree. Her previous theater highlights include Dreamgirls as “Effie” with Theatre Huntsville, Recognizing Mr. Right with TOW Productions, The Wiz as “Eveline” with Alabama A&M, Accappella with Art City Institute & Foundation, and The Color Purple with Independent Musical Productions. She is currently in pursuit of becoming a professional Broadway Singer. Trashonda is also known as BrightLight because she believes God gave her a light to shine to the world. During her free time, she enjoys roller skating, singing, and family. She wants to thank her family for all the continuous love and support through her dreams and adorations.

Lennie Flowers S. | Technical Director, Scenic Design

She has worked and been involved in the performing arts for 20+ years. Lennie recently moved to the Huntsville area and made her area stage debut in Spamalot! Some of her most memorable productions have been the Lion in The Wizard of Oz, Mrs Graves in Enchanted April, and The Ghost of Christmas Past in A Christmas Carol. Lennie also has a love for directing, set design and film & television. Lennie is so excited to be a part of the theater community in the Huntsville area!

Mark B. Moore | Assistant Director, Projection Design

Mark has also been involved in community theatre for more than a decade and has directed productions that include The Watsons Go To Birmingham, Daddy’s Dyin’: Who’s Got the Will?, Deathtrap, Sordid Lives, The 25th Annual Putman County Spelling Bee, Crowns, A Christmas Story, and Radio Golf. He is the owner of Nonprofit Hero LLC, a design and consulting agency. He and his husband Chris Maynard live in Huntsville with their pups Artemis and Puck.

Gabrielle Purdum | Stage Manager

Gabrielle Purdum started doing theatre at 7 years old at summer camp, and it has been her greatest love ever since; even almost 20 years later. She attended the Alabama School of Fine Arts for Theatre Arts and graduated in 2017. She has extensive experience in acting, having won multiple awards at various theatre conference in Alabama, stage management, and just last year started writing her own plays. She was awarded “Audience Favorite” for her One Act at the 2024 New Kids Play Fest with Fantasy Playhouse Children’s Theatre and Academy. She is currently studying Forestry at Alabama A&M University.  

Ambrania Reeder | Stage Manager

Ambrania Reeder is a 27-year-old recent honors graduate of Alabama A&M University majoring in Communications Media with a concentration in Production. She loves her family, friends, and all things art related. In September of 2022, she was the Head Stage Manager for Alabama A&M’s Bulldog Players Production’s rendition of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night performed at the Orion Amphitheater in Huntsville, AL. In November of 2022, she was the Head Stage Manager for The Wiz, which Alabama A&M’s Bulldog Players Production also put on in the Johnson Little Theatre. She was also the Head Stage Manager for the plays Where The TimeLines Meet and Breathe written by Danita Jones that premiered last spring for Alabama A&M. This past fall she was the Head Stage Manager for Alabama A&M’s Bulldog Players Production’s rendition of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing performed at the Orion Amphitheater in Huntsville, AL. She also was the Company Tour Manager for Alabama A&M’s first acting, dancing, and singing group, Bulldog Beat, which tours with the president of the university, Dr. Daniel K. Wims, to recruit tomorrow’s Bulldogs.

Byron Turner | Director

Byron an Alabama native and has been involved in the theater on and off for 20 years. And while this may be his first production as director for Theatre Huntsville, he’s no stranger to the big stage. He has been a part of multiple productions for the Theatre Huntsville including Clybourne Park, Ultimate Christmas Show (abridged), The Eight: Reindeer Monologues, Radio Golf, God of Carnage, Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll, and The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940. He was the assistant director of Theatre Huntsville’s production of Stick-Fly. 

Bryan White | Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Born and raised in Huntsville, Alabama, Bryan's previous theatre credits include a host of productions for Lee High Theater, Independent Musical Productions, Fantasy Playhouse Children's Theatre, Recognizing Mr. Right for TOW Productions, The Wiz for Alabama A&M and Dreamgirls, Stick Fly and Spamalot for Theatre Huntsville. 

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