King James

 B

After well-received runs at Steppenwolf in Chicago and Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles, Rajiv Joseph’s (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Describe the Night) two-character play about fandom and friendship has reached New York in a Manhattan Theatre Club production at City Center Stage I. The royal personage of the title is LeBron James, whose basketball career in and out of the Cleveland Cavaliers is the focus of both devotion and frustration for Matt, a manically neurotic wine bar manager, and relatively more grounded Shawn, a would-be writer, who meet when Matt is forced by financial problems to sell his season tickets to the Cavs. The two bond over their shared fandom and become good friends. We observe the ups and downs of their friendship over twelve years at four key moments in LeBron James’s career. Luckily for us, the roles of Matt and Shawn are performed by Chris Perfetti (Sons of the Prophet, The Tutors) and Glenn Davis (Downstate, Wig Out!), who play exceptionally well together. The playwright shows us how shared fandom can serve as a socially acceptable basis for a platonic bromance. Matt is white and Shawn is black, a fact that becomes relevant for a brief scene late in the play. The lively dialog has a convincingly natural flow but I would have liked a stronger narrative arc. Todd Rosenthal’s (August Osage County, Linda Vista) set for the first act presents the rather generic looking wine bar where Matt works; the second act is set in the funky antiques cum upholstery store owned by Matt’s parents, which offers lots of interesting objects to look at. The costumes by Samantha C. Jones are apt. Kenny Leon’s (Soldier’s Play, Topdog/Underdog) direction is smooth. My only serious objection is to the inclusion of a DJ (Khloe Janel) who plays loud hip-hop music before the play and during intermission. Do we really need a trendy version of the national anthem complete with crowd noise before the play begins? In case you are concerned that the play is strictly for knowledgeable sports fans, you need not worry. It is completely accessible to all. Running time: two hours ten minutes including intermission