“Stokely and Martin,” performed this weekend at Multicultural Arts Center of East Cambridge, brings to life competing visions of resistance and moral responsibility. The play is set entirely in the home of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Stetson Marshall) and his wife Coretta Scott King (Simone Alyse), the action a dinner visit from leaders of the Black Panther Party: Stokely Carmichael (Darren Paul), Cleve Sellers (Joshua Lee Robinson), and Willie Ricks (Terral Arjuna Ainooson).
This imagined encounter between King and the Panthers, reminiscent of One Night in Miami by Kemp Powers, occurs in early 1967, at a moment when their philosophical differences reached an impasse of global existential stakes: The Vietnam War.
As young Black men are disproportionately drafted to fight, it is Carmichael’s intention to convince King to break his silence and publicly condemn the war. History reveals the outcome: in April of 1967, King began his “Vietnam Summer” speaking tour right here in Cambridge, becoming not just a moral advocate for civil rights within the United States, but an explicit anti-imperialist who linked racism, militarism and economic exploitation as a single, interconnected system oppressing people of color all over the world.
The play, written and directed by Najee A. Brown, MAC’s artistic director, exemplifies his vision of melding performance and civic practice, infused with social justice, Black history and community dialogue. The result is closer to a live philosophical exchange than a traditional play, and the audience seemed here for that from the outset.
While “Stokely and Martin” revolves around two men who are revered, it avoids turning them into monuments through intimate, conversational exchanges — part debate, part confession. Their reactions to each other are emotionally charged. They interrupt but also recognize each other’s points. The cast members imbue their roles with warmth and humanity, listening and responding with care, making each character’s ideological stand feel like lived truth. The script emphasizes extended speeches, but strong performances by the actors kept the audience engaged. Particularly moving were Joshua Lee Robinson’s impassioned delivery of Cleve Sellers’s monologue and Simone Alyse’s unaccompanied rendition of “Strange Fruit” as Coretta Scott King.
Through its use of confessional monologue, we see that power means showing self-love, self-respect, and collective dignity to a society that has only been allowed to conceptualize it as domination. The focus on the Vietnam War is unique and feels especially resonant in this moment, as the U.S. once again expands its foreign entanglements and public debate feels increasingly constrained.
What I wanted more of was Coretta Scott King’s interior life. There is no version of this history in which she did not live with the constant knowledge that her husband could be assassinated. Even if she never voiced that fear to him, that silence itself would have required immense emotional labor. A glimpse of that private burden, and the courage of carrying terror alone, would have added visibility to the depth and breadth of Black female heroism and humanity in resistance.
The audience felt fully engaged with the production. Many attendees came not just to watch a play, but to learn, to pay respect, and to gather on MLK weekend. That communal intention mattered. The post-show Q&A provided some of the evening’s most compelling moments, transforming the production into an engaged community forum. Audience questions introduced curiosity and urgency — elements that mirrored the play’s themes and extended them into the present and abroad.
Brown makes “Stokely and Martin” an invitation: to think together, sing together, and to consider how power is wielded and oppression resisted. Extending it feels as pressing and necessary today as it did in 1967.
Two captions of photos were updated to correct an editing error, and the photographer credits were also corrected. We regret the errors.
A stronger
Please consider making a financial contribution to maintain, expand and improve Cambridge Day.
We are now a 501(c)3 nonprofit and all donations are tax deductible.
Please consider a recurring contribution.