5 reasons why ‘King James’ is a slam dunk!

Find out more about Rajiv Joseph’s hit play about a friendship forged through fandom: King James

1. The premiere production in 2022 at Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago starred Glenn Davis (Co-Artistic Director of Steppenwolf) and Chris Perfetti (Abbott Elementary, ABC).
2. King James is written in 4 scenes or “quarters,” (like an NBA basketball game) with each quarter kicked off by a milestone moment in LeBron James’ career. The play covers the period of time from 2004 – LeBron’s rookie season and when the two characters meet – until 2016, and the audience gets to see how the two characters grow and change, as well as the ups and downs of their unlikely friendship. Playwright Rajiv Joseph has been a huge sports fan all his life, and is from Cleveland. He wanted the pageantry of actually watching a game to be reflected in some small way through the structure of the play.
3. King James marks the first time ATP has worked with Theatre Aquarius (Hamilton, Ontario). ATP Artistic Director Haysam Kadri will first direct the show at Theatre Aquarius in September before bringing the production to ATP in February.
4. Rajiv Joseph’s play Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo was a finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and the playwright won a 2018 Obie Award for Best New American Play for his play Describe the Night.
5. Not a basketball fan? Worried you need to take an NBA crash-course before seeing the play? Not to worry – the main focus of the play is the friendship between the two characters. Chris Jones of The Chicago Tribune said the play “tells a very moving, accessible and openhearted story of two friends.” Leading up to Manhattan Theatre Company’s production in 2023, director Kenny Leon said (in an interview with theatrely.com) the play “explores the idea that many of us don’t get to the fourth quarter of friendship or relationships. So, the play really explores, what does it mean to get to the fourth quarter in friendship with all its powers to deal with that?”

Bonus Fact! The play has been incredibly well-received wherever it’s played – including Chicago and L.A., however there have been amusingly opposite reactions to certain moments. For example, in an interview with theatrely.com, Glenn Davis (who played Shawn in both these productions) talked about a moment in the play where he says, LeBron James is the greatest basketball player of all time. In Chicago (where Michael Jordan played the majority of his career), he got booed. Whereas in L.A. (where LeBron plays now), people cheered.

Check out King James as part of the 2024-25 50th Anniversary Season from February 25 – March 16. Interested in the best price on tickets, free exchanges, and priority ticket access? Subscribe and join us for the season (plus all the perks) HERE.