.png)
What starts out as a shared love for one of the greatest basketball players to ever live transforms into an enduring friendship on the stage at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre's Tom Hendry Warehouse Theatre this week.
King James tells the story of two men, Matt and Shawn, who bond over the sale of tickets to see their beloved Cleveland Cavaliers and their then-emerging superstar LeBron James. The play traces the relationship of the two men through the lens of the basketball icon’s career.
“I kind of essentially grew up in the whole entire LeBron lore,” said Eric Miracle, who plays Shawn in the play and who was born the same year James was drafted by the Cavaliers. “My family’s big fans of basketball, so, you know, this is something that wasn’t so new to me.”
“I think we all have those experiences when we’re kids just kind of imagining us playing in the NBA and, you know, scoring a slam dunk and all this stuff,” adds Justin Fry who plays Matt.
Despite King James being rooted in basketball, director Ray Strachan notes that the basketball eventually takes a backseat as audiences begin to see Matt and Shawn’s relationship develop onstage. This examination helps to break down a societal trope of what the typical male friendship can look like, especially one that’s steeped in the culture of sports.
“We’re playing on the stereotype folks thinks it’s very superficial,” says Strachan. “We go for beers, we talk about stats, we grunt like Tim Allen, and that’s game over. But, you know, sports offers that open door to where we do have those deep conversations that usually don’t get to see on stage.”
Those deep conversations (or lack thereof) is something that Fry has observed in his own life playing on community sports teams. “I’m sure we all have experiences as guys… where you’re kind of in this environment where you kind of have to put on this front of, you know, maybe masculinity. It’s been fun to play with that with these two characters... how they’re presenting themselves to each other and then, you kind of see the cracks and those facades and they kind of open up more.”
“It’s been a treat,” smiles Miracle when asked what it’s been like to build the relationship between Matt and Shawn in the lead-up to opening night. “It’s nice to actually have only one person to lock in and focus in on.”
In addition to watching this examination of relationship on stage, Strachan thinks Winnipeggers will see the city’s sports culture reflected in the Cleveland-set show. “Cleveland has been through a lot of losing, and so have Winnipeg sports fans,” he says, citing the departure of the first iteration of the Winnipeg Jets and the Blue Bombers’ long Grey Cup drought as examples. “We really have these attachments and how much of our city is connected to these teams”
Audiences can connect to King James starting on March 6 at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre’s Tom Hendry Warehouse Theatre. The production runs until March 22. Tickets and more information can be found at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre’s website.