Matt and Shawn, two Clevelanders, forge an unlikely connection over their shared passion for the Cleveland Cavaliers and rising basketball star LeBron James. Spanning 12 years, their friendship is shaped by the triumphs and challenges of both fandom and life itself.
From Pulitzer Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph, King James is a funny and heartfelt look at loyalty, ambition, and celebrates the connections that keep us going. It runs through April 6 at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
On this episode of SportsJam with Doug Doyle, King James director Ryan George and actors Doug Harris (Waiting For Lefty) in the role of “Matt” and Blake Morris (Toni Stone) in the role of “Shawn.” join the show to talk about its impact on them personally.
Director Ryan George is thrilled to direct King James at GSP.
"I do love George Street. I've been very happy to build such wonderful connections there. I was totally up for it as someone who knew about the play before, having auditioned for it before, once it started its regional run, it was already a play on my radar."
George is a huge sports fan.
"I grew up in Miami and was a Dolphins and Miami Heat fan. I played Pop Warner football growing up."
Ryan also attended the University of Florida when the Gators' football and basketball teams won National Championships.
Actor Doug Harris, who despite living in New York, is celebrating his Philadelphia Eagles' Super Bowl victory. Harris is also excited to be one of the two stars of King James. Harris plays "Matt" in the comedy.
"The thing that resonates with me in this play is the way that sports for me has served as a jumping off point for a lot of conversations that are more complicated, especially when you're talking about being a man and masculinity. I mean there's always conversations with your dad type thing. For me specifically in this story, it's about friendship. People who are feeling pretty lonely they go to these place where people gather for these events. They find each other there. Then they have to work their way around it from that. Matt is a pretty interesting guy. He's sort of stuck. He's frustrated. He's ambitious, but he's also dealing with growing up."
The other star of the show is Blake Morris who is a Brooklyn-based storyteller from the South Side of Chicago. When Morris started seeing posters of King James go up, he thought it was a tribute to LeBron James, but when he took a closer look at the script, he realized the play went way beyond an homage to the NBA superstar.
"There's so much beneath the surface. I love plays that do that. It's about one thing but underneath it there's a whole story taking place. We come back to LeBron James throughout the play and I think his energy is felt in the play. But I think even someone who has vague familiarity with LeBron James, you could still follow along and it will still be very worthwhile."
King James will feature scenic design by Frank J. Oliva (On Set With Theda Bara), lighting design by Amara Payton McNeil (Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine), sound design by Christopher J. Bailey (GSP’s What the Constitution Means to Me), costume design by Azalea Fairley (Eternal Life Part 1), and video design by Douglas Sharf (“Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York”). Samantha Flint is the Production Stage Manager, and Qixuan Sun is the Assistant Stage Manager. Casting is by McCorkle Casting.
You can SEE the entire SportsJam interview with Ryan George, Blake Morris and Doug Harris here.
