Enoch King

Fans of ‘King James’ seek their own success

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By John Lyle Belden

No matter how emotionally aware men get, how comfortable with our feelings, it’s always easiest to bond over things like sports. And when it’s at some of the biggest moments for your city’s team, that can help make what could be a lasting friendship.

That’s a too-simple summation of “King James,” a two-man buddy comedy by Rajiv Joseph on the Janet Allen (upper) Stage at Indiana Repertory Theatre. The setting is Cleveland; the era runs from 2004, as northeast Ohio-native Lebron James shows great promise with the Cavaliers, to 2016, when that promise is fulfilled.

But for us that man is just an image on an unseen screen. Our focus is on two lifelong Cavaliers fans: Matt (Quinn M. Johnson), a man who grew up seated by his father at nearly every home game; and Shawn (Enoch King), who could only follow on radio and TV, promising his adult self to be in the arena when the long-elusive NBA title finally came. In James’ rookie season, the two are at a crossroads. Matt’s father can no longer attend the games and he – a struggling entrepreneur – needs money, so he puts their Cavs season tickets up for sale. Shawn is eager to buy, having made some money selling his writing, but not for what Matt’s asking. In the course of negotiations, the two end up striking a deal that becomes a friendship.

However, 2010 comes, and with it “The Decision,” an ESPN program during which James announces he’s “taking his talents” to Miami. Needless to say, Matt and Shawn don’t take this well, but the star player isn’t the only one with an important life and career decision.

We also look in on these men in 2014, when James returns to Cleveland, and finally when the Cavaliers win it all. The deep jump-shot arc of a story runs from Matt’s struggling wine bar to his family’s upholstery and knick-knack shop, as his and Shawn’s fortunes rise and fall.

“That’s what’s wrong with America,” Matt declares at anything he doesn’t like. But his is a very American story of seeking to prosper in a Midwest city full of opportunity and uncertainty. Johnson plays him with a cocky confident façade, a fairly noble person beneath, and a lot of nervous energy in between. King, in a style reminiscent of a young Cedric the Entertainer, makes Shawn good humored and easygoing while maintaining a quiet integrity.

Jamil Jude, notable for work across the country, is director. Czerton Lim created an imaginative set with much of it changing between the first and second acts. Miriam Hyfler is stage manager.

Another star of the show is Armand, the taxidermy armadillo, on loan from Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre where he was in the play’s 2022 world premiere.

Not just a play about basketball, “King James” is about fans whose ability to love a game gives them a means to feel for each other. Performances run through Feb. 9 at 140 W. Washington St., downtown Indianapolis. Tickets and info at irtlive.com.

IRT: A ‘West’ we don’t often see

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By John Lyle Belden

Just northwest of the center of the state of Kansas is a little town called Nicodemus.

Today it is a National Historic Site, and for good reason. This is living proof that it wasn’t just White families who settled the American West. Many Blacks sought true freedom under the Homestead Act, with, in this case, the help of the Nicodemus Town Company. In “Flyin’ West,” by Pearl Cleage, at Indiana Repertory Theatre, we see an imagined family who held their own land there.

Circumstances including escaping racially-motivated riots in Memphis brought three sisters – Sophie (Lakesha Lorene), Fannie (L’Oreal Lampley), and Minnie (Kayla Mary Jane) – to claim their own stake. On neighboring acres, elderly Miss Leah (Dwandra Nickole Lampkin) kept the farm after her husband passed.

Sophie, gun on her hip to fend off pests in both animal and human form, prepares for winter and to pass a resolution in town to fend off (White) land speculators.  She is persuading Miss Leah to stay on at their homestead, while Fannie is about to be swept off her feet by neighbor Will Parish (Enoch King) if he can sum up the gumption to court her properly. Minnie has recently arrived with her husband Frank Charles (Allen Tedder), whose pale skin masks his slave upbringing. The couple had been living in London, England, where social acceptance came easier, but they hardly saw another with African skin. Frank, eager to get back there, awaits word on a possible inheritance from his father’s estate in New Orleans. Somehow, Minnie also arrived with a bruise around her eye.

Cleage’s compelling drama combines timeless themes of family, dealing with the effects of violence and slavery, and the power of sisterhood in even the most challenging environment. The women’s  performances embody many forms of tested strength, which work together to do what must be done. King plays Will as a rock-solid support without being controlling – in contrast to Tedder’s turn as despicable Frank.

Stories and situations of family drama played out often in these times and places; there’s more to the West than the OK Corral, with a lot more diversity among those involved than our histories and media suggest.

Directed by Raelle Myrick-Hodges, this production includes a deceptively simple-looking turntable set by Junghyun Georgia Lee that suggests a cozy cabin without the obstruction of outer walls, as well as an excellent hand-painted background by Claire Dana, also masterful in its simplicity.

Performances run through Feb. 4 on the IRT Mainstage at 140 W. Washington in downtown Indianapolis. Tickets and information at irtlive.com.