If you’re a basketball fan, you know that with a great rebound or a clutch 3-point shot, a game can turn on a dime.
That’s also the case in “King James,” Rajiv Joseph’s enormously entertaining comedy about an ever-shifting relationship between two Cleveland men whose friendship was forged by their shared love of basketball. The well-directed and superbly cast play opened Thursday in the Old Globe’s intimate Sheryl & Harvey White Theatre.
The 2022 play is named after basketball superstar LeBron James and it takes place during the 12-year period in which James made his rookie debut with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2004, left the team six years later for the Miami Heat, then returned in 2014 to lead the Cavs to their first world championship in 2016.
But neither James nor a basketball makes an appearance in the play, and the story isn’t about sports. It’s about two buddies — one White, one Black — whose friendship begins, grows, rapidly transforms and frays to the breaking point in four scenes — each one tied to a key year in James’ career.
Imaginatively, humorously and tautly directed in the round by Justin Emeka, the play is continuously funny and deeply touching, and its characters feel authentic. It also helps that the production’s co-stars have such great chemistry, it’s easy to imagine they’re best buddies. As the eager audience settled back into their seats for the play’s second act on Thursday night, there was an almost game-time buzz of pent-up excitement that I rarely see in the theater.
As in a basketball game, who’s ahead in the game of life shifts with every scene in “King James.” As the play opens in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Shawn shows up in a bar where Matt works with an offer to buy some Cavaliers season tickets that Matt has advertised for sale. Matt and his dad have held the seats for decades but they can no longer attend together, so Matt is selling the seats to pay off a debt. Shawn and Matt share a love for basketball, the Cavs and James, but they’re also both in dire need of a friend, so they decide to become season seatmates.
In the next scene, set six years later, their friendship has matured and prospered, but it’s tested by family dynamics and losses, trust issues, personal ambitions and differing opinions on James’ decision to leave for Miami.
In the play’s second act, the two men’s lives take some surprising personal and career turns. And, for the first time, the never-discussed but long-simmering racial tension in their relationship is exposed. Each man will have a taste of great financial success in his life, but they gradually realize the one thing they value most is their friendship. But can it be repaired before the final buzzer?
As Shawn, Joshua Echebiri has a warm, steady, reserved and likable presence. He also believably transmits his character’s self-doubt, sadness and unshakable loyalty to Matt (and Matt’s never-seen mom), who represents the family he never had.
Foote — who won a 2017 Craig Noel Award from the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle for his wildly comic lead performance in San Diego Rep’s “Hand to God” — is impulsive and explosive as Matt. Foote is exceptional at portraying this complex, defensive and mercurial character who is mired in self-pity, yet boyishly open in his affection for and dependence on Shawn.
The high-energy story plays out in a bar, and, later, an antique shop, both simply but effectively designed by Lawrence E. Moten III, with lighting by Abigail Hoke-Brady, sound by Lindsay Jones and costumes by Sarita Fellows.
No basketball knowledge is necessary to enjoy “King James.” It’s more a touching and funny story on the game of life and — no spoilers — the audience wins every night.
‘King James’
When: 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays; 8 p.m. Fridays; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays. Through March 31
Where: Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, Balboa Park, The Old Globe, 1363 Old Globe Way, Balboa Park
Tickets: $33 and up
Phone: (619) 234-5623
Online: theoldglobe.org