Martin Luther King Jr. Meets Malcolm X In "The Meeting";
Play To Bookend King Commemoration At Penn State
January 8, 2001
University Park, Pa. — Penn State’s Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration will kick off on stage this weekend when civil rights leaders King and Malcolm X come together in a production of Jeff Stetson’s "The Meeting."

The play details a fictitious meeting between King and Malcolm at the Victoria Hotel in New York the night prior to Malcolm’s assassination in 1963. Directed by Charles Dumas, associate professor of theatre arts, the thought-provoking play portrays the adversarial discussion of ideas between King and Malcolm, resulting in a new-found respect between the two men.

"What people should take from this performance is that the civil rights movement was complicated," said Dumas. "It was led by diverse people with different backgrounds all working toward one common goal — freedom and dignity for everyone."

Performances of "The Meeting" will be Friday and Saturday, Jan. 12 and 13, and Jan. 19 and 20, at 7 p.m. in the HUB-Robeson Center’s Heritage Hall. A matinee will be offered on Sunday, Jan. 21, at 2 p.m. Admission is free.

Starring in the production is second-year fine arts graduate student Herb Newsome as Malcolm X and first-year fine arts graduate student Jarvis George as King. Both actors recently appeared in the Penn State School of Theatre’s production of August Wilson’s "The Piano Lesson." Also featured is undergraduate theatre major Jerrell Henderson as Rashad, Malcolm’s bodyguard.

Another project by Dumas will premiere in conjunction with the King celebration. Approximately 100 students and professional actors collaborated on "Surfacing," a film production that conveys the atmosphere of student activism in the 1970s at a fictitious Pennsylvania State College. The film flashes forward 20 years, where those students reflect on activism and try to communicate its importance with today’s comparatively apathetic students.

"Surfacing" will be screened on Sunday, Jan. 14, at 7:30 p.m. in Heritage Hall.

Penn State’s annual commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day features a full week of celebrations, artistic productions, and volunteer activities for faculty, staff, and students. The slate of events from Friday, Jan. 12 through Sunday, Jan. 21, is united under the common theme "Overcoming the Barriers, Fulfilling the Promise."

For more information on the Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration, visit http://www.equity.psu.edu/mlk.

Contact: Tysen Kendig, Department of Public Information, (814) 865-7517 or tysen@psu.edu.