“King” LeBron James’s reign in Cleveland brings promise, prosperity and renewal to a city in desperate need of all three. It also brings together two unlikely friends in a bond forged by fandom. Told over 12 years (from LeBron's rookie season to an NBA Championship), King James is an intimate exploration of the place that sports occupy in our lives and relationships.
Ensemble member Rajiv Joseph's clever and fast-paced comedy traces the arcs of two friends whose turbulent relationship is best navigated through their shared love of basketball—and the endless amiable arguments that erupt from that love. All the while, the promise and burden of LeBron's talent and legacy loom large.
King James creative team includes Todd Rosenthal (Scenic Design); Samantha C. Jones (Costume Design); Lee Fiskness (Lighting Design); Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen (Sound Design); Sophiyaa Nayar (Associate Director); Polly Hubbard (Dramaturg); Gigi Buffington (Company Voice and Text Coach); Tom Pearl (Director of Production); JC Clementz, CSA (Casting Director); Laura D. Glenn (Production Stage Manager); and Jaclynn Joslin (Assistant Stage Manager).
World Premiere
King James
By ensemble member Rajiv Joseph
Directed by Tony and Obie Award winner Kenny Leon
Featuring ensemble member and Artistic Director Glenn Davis alongside Chris Perfetti
In Steppenwolf’s Downstairs Theater
March 3 – April 10, 2022
Steppenwolf.org for tickets.
KENNY LEON is a Tony and Obie Award-winning, Emmy-nominated Broadway and television director. Most recently, he directed Lifetime’s Emmy-nominated Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia. Currently on Netflix, Kenny directed Amend: The Fight for America, a six-part docuseries hosted by Will Smith. Last year, he directed the Tony Award-winning Broadway premiere of Charles Fuller's Pulitzer Prize winning masterpiece, A Soldier's Play starring Blair Underwood and David Alan Grier at Roundabout Theatre Company for which he also received a nomination for Best Director. He also directed the acclaimed production of Much Ado About Nothing at the Delacorte/Shakespeare in the Park. His Broadway credits include the recent production of A Soldier's Play, American Son starring Kerry Washington and Steven Pasquale which was also adapted for Netflix, the revival of Children of a Lesser God,the Tupac musical Holler If Ya Hear Me, A Raisin in the Sun starring Denzel Washington (Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play and Best Revival of a Play), The Mountaintop starring Samuel L. Jackson and Angela Bassett, Stick Fly produced by Alicia Keys, August Wilson’s Fences (which garnered ten Tony nominations and won three Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Play), Gem of the Ocean and Radio Golf, as well as A Raisin in the Sun starring Sean “Diddy” Combs, Phylicia Rashad, and Audra McDonald. He also directed Smart People and The Underlying Chris for Second Stage. Leon’s television work includes “Hairspray Live!”, and “The Wiz Live!” on NBC. He recently released his memoir Take You Wherever You Go. He is the recipient of the 2016 Mr. Abbott Award for Lifetime Achievement in Directing and the 2010 Award for Excellence in Directing from the Drama League. Mr. Leon serves on the board of New York's Public Theater and is Artistic Director Emeritus of Atlanta's Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company. He is currently serving as Senior Resident Director at Roundabout Theatre Company.