'Abbott Elementary' Star Chris Perfetti Heads Off-Broadway in Play About 'LeBron Fandom' (Exclusive)
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The play King James, which features Chris Perfetti as a lifelong LeBron James enthusiast, is coming to New York City
Chris Perfetti takes on sports fandom in his latest stage show.
The Abbott Elementary star, who comes from a theater background, stars in Pulitzer-finalist Rajiv Joseph's King James, a play that explores the depths of friendship through a shared love for none other than LeBron James.
"I don't think it would really be possible for anybody to see this play and not have a profound experience," Perfetti, 34, exclusively tells PEOPLE of the play, which opens May 16 Off-Broadway. "It comes out of a real place of love for [LeBron] as a person and everything that he can and has done. That tickles me. The fact that LeBron fandom has penetrated the American theater. It's an unlikely duo."
The play consists of only two people onstage: Perfetti's character, Matt, and Shawn, portrayed by Glenn Davis.
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"I was intrigued and thrilled and terrified of what it would mean to be in a play with just myself and another actor. It's a lot to do, which is both really gratifying and exhausting," Perfetti says of the play's demands.
He continues: "I think every actor, when they have the guts, at least, to say, 'Hey, I think that should be me who does that thing,' I think there is something both conscious and subconscious that you relate to. It's just an instinct. I've had the great pleasure and the great fortune to work over the last 10 years on new plays on and off Broadway in New York. That's where I got my start. That's, for the most part, still where I very much feel the most at home."
Related:The Abbott Elementary Cast's Best Behind-the-Scenes Photos
The play's title, King James, begs the question of royalty. But titular James is not a literal monarch — he's a figurative one (though his Instagram handle might suggest otherwise). The NBA star and his sport serve as the universal entry point for the production to discuss what unifies people and how friendships form and evolve.
"The play is this intimate exploration of what guys might be talking about when they're talking about sports, and the place that friendship holds in our lives," Perfetti explains. "Basketball is really just this vehicle to talk about bigger things, to talk about the state of the world and what it means to be a human being."
"When we did the play in Chicago and L.A.., I had so many people come up to me afterward who said that they had never seen a play before and that they saw themselves in it, or they saw somebody they know, and that it meant a lot to them," Perfetti says of the production's impact. "And, likewise, there's a ton of people who come to the play who know nothing about sports and have no interest in basketball. And this play is for both of those people."
Still, for all the people the play appeals to, the "King" himself has yet to see it.
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"I hope [LeBron] will see it," says Perfetti with a laugh. "I know he's a little preoccupied at the moment."
King James opens at the Manhattan Theatre Club on May 16. It's now in previews.
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