In recognition of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Westport Country Playhouse will present a free-of-charge screening of the Emmy Award-winning documentary film, “King in the Wilderness,” based on the volatile last three years of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life, at 7 p.m. The event is part of the 19th Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration in partnership with The Westport Library, TEAM Westport, Westport Country Playhouse, and Westport/ Weston Clergy Association.

From award-winning director/producer Peter Kunhardt and originally presented on HBO in 2018, “King in the Wilderness” follows Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. from the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 to his assassination in April 1968. The film includes some never-before-seen footage of interviews with those closest to King interspersed with historical archives.

“King in the Wilderness” focuses on events in King’s life and the civil rights movement such as the Chicago Freedom Movement, the James Meredith march, the anti-Vietnam War protests and King’s “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence” speech, the 1967 riots, preparation for the Poor People’s Campaign, the Memphis sanitation strike, the “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech, and King’s assassination and funeral. Among King’s colleagues and friends interviewed in the documentary are Bernard Lafayette, Andrew Young, Diane Nash, Harry Belafonte, John Lewis, Dorothy Cotton, Joan Baez, Xernona Clayton, Jesse Jackson, Mary Lou Finley, Cleveland Sellers, and C. T. Vivian.

One of the film’s producers is Westporter Trey Ellis, playwright and director of the Playhouse’s September 2024 Script in Hand playreading, “Satchel Paige and the Kansas City Swing.”

When: Monday, January 20, 2025 at 7 p.m.

Where: Westport Country Playhouse, 25 Powers Court, Westport, CT 06880

More information on “King in the Wilderness” at: https://www.westportplayhouse.org/show/king-in-the-wilderness/

The film’s trailer is at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVGRg89DbyM

Cost: Free admission; seating unreserved. The film will run 113 minutes, no intermission; rated TV-14.

A complete schedule of Playhouse events is available at www.westportplayhouse.org. All play titles, artists, dates, and times are subject to change.

For Westport Country Playhouse information and tickets, visit www.westportplayhouse.org or call the box office at (203) 227-4177, toll-free at 1-888-927-7529.