Review: KING JAMES at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley

Coach John Wooden said “Sports don’t build character, they reveal it” and this applies to fans as well, evidenced wonderfully in TheatreWorks 54th season opener King James, award-winning Rajiv Joseph’s two-hander perspective on fandom and its effect on the relationship between two bros. Giovanna Sardelli, TheatreWorks’ artistic director, has a history with Joseph working on  Describe the Night (seen in TheatreWorks’ 2014 New Works Festival before going on to win the 2018 Obie Award for Best New American Play for its production at Atlantic Theatre Company helmed by Sardelli. Here she lets her two actors, Kenny Scott and Jordan Lane Shappell shine as two hapless friends who bond over their mutual love of the Cleveland Cavaliers and their star LeBron James.

Matt (Jordan Lane Shappell) and Shawn (Kenny Scott) are superfans, brought together when Matt is forced to sell his treasured Cavalier season tickets. He’s got issues with his parents, his girlfriends, his career. Shawn is struggling too – a wannabe writer and serial dater. Both find solace and focus on LeBron. Joseph includes just enough sports talk to make it realistic, while not losing a non-sport audience. The two argue like all fans do- who’s the greatest, Jordan or LeBron? And there’s plenty of comedy in their rapport, even disagreeing on the definition of the word ‘fan.’

Shappell and Scott are totally believable in their characterizations. Engaging, charming, and challenging, the ups and downs of their relationship are mirrored through the timeline of LeBron’s career. Both are down and out, both successful during the two acts. An unfortunate choice of word by Matt causes a major rift with hints of racism and the two separate ways. We see it as an unfortunate misinterpreted slip of the tongue, but sometimes little incidents cause major implications.

Joseph deftly pulls it all together, exposing the duo's bonds of friendship that can carry them through the difficulties in their relationship which for me can be seen as a hetero bromance. Buddies are allowed to express themselves intimately through their love of sports and these two guys definitely love each other. There’s too few plays that examine male-male bonding and King James is a fine example.

King James continues through November 3rd. Tickets available at www.theatreworks.org or by calling 877-662-8978.

Photo credits: Kevin Berne

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