Civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X will take the stage tonight, performing in Jeff Stetson's 1984 drama, The Meeting.

The 7 p.m. performance in the HUB-Robeson Center's Heritage Hall is a portrayal of an imaginary meeting between the men at a New York hotel the night before Malcolm's assassination in 1963. The play sheds light on the differences between King and Malcolm as they discuss their diverse ideas on the Civil Rights Movement.

"What people should take from this performance is that the Civil Rights Movement was complicated," play director and associate professor of theatre arts Charles Dumas said in a press release. "It was led by diverse people with different backgrounds all working toward one common goal — freedom and dignity for everyone."

Dumas, who once played the role of King in a 1989 production of The Meeting, said that he is dedicating this production to Anthony Lee, the actor who played opposite Dumas as Malcolm X. Lee was killed by a Los Angeles police officer last October for allegedly pointed a replica handgun at him at a Halloween party. The officer mistook the gun to be real and shot Lee.

Starring in the role of Malcolm X is Herb Newsome (graduate-fine arts) with Jarvis George (graduate-fine arts) as King. The play also features Jerrell Henderson (sophomore-theatre) as Rashad, Malcolm's bodyguard. "This play really captures and holds you. It shows these two men as human and gives exposition to really why they felt the way they did," Henderson said.

Additional performances of The Meeting will be given at 7 p.m. tomorrow as well as on Jan. 19 and 20. There will also be a matinee at 2 p.m. on Jan. 21. Admission to all shows is free.

The production of The Meeting is the first of a series of events in Penn State's Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration. Surfacing, a film project directed by Dumas and produced by Josephine Dumas, features student activism in the 1970s at a fictitious Pennsylvania college and will premiere at 7:30 p.m. Sunday in Heritage Hall.