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Sometimes we can’t fully appreciate the giants who walk among us until we have the chance to view them and their achievements through hindsight. In the case of tennis great Billie Jean King, that process is being bolstered through the arts. Now playing at Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST), a powerful and unabashedly joyful retrospective of King’s life portrays a woman initially driven simply by a thirst for winning. As the story about her grows and her life begins to take shape, winning remains a driving force, but fairness and equality soon join it to ultimately define the full scope of her destiny.

The first female athlete to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award, and with enough Grand Slam tennis titles and Wimbledon victories to keep her emblazoned in the record books for centuries, she’s now an icon in the truest sense of the word. She’s also at that stage of life when one considers how they will be remembered. When approached about a project focusing on her life, King was open to a play. What surprised playwright Lauren Gunderson is that she was recruited to write Billie Jean, the theatrical sensation currently premiering at CST.

Although Gunderson may have been startled by her selection, the choice couldn’t have been more ideal. Not only is she the one most produced contemporary playwrights in the country, but her work is also very often women centered with the express intent of highlighting the contributions of the less seen and unseen. Most commonly too, her vantage point is usually historical. In this effort, she would be working with a living national treasure to present a truthful and moving account of the valleys as well as the mountains of a highly notable life. Her prodigious writing prowess along with Marc Bruni’s masterfully perceptive direction turn Billie Jean into a celebration of being who you are and staying true to one’s core convictions.

You see King at her most pure shortly after the play’s splashy adrenaline-stirring intro and a little firecracker lights up the stage in the form of Julia Antonelli as a young Billie Jean. As precocious intellectually as she soon proves to be athletically, the pre-pubescent tennis wonder is an observant keg of energy with plenty of questions and more than capable of making her own keen deductions about the world she lives in. Once she dips her toe into the sport of tennis, she’s hooked and hungers to get better so that she can win. Her drive to become the best at what she does makes her ceaselessly inquisitive. When she crosses paths with Althea Gibson, one of the first black women to push aside the color barrier in international tennis and the first to win a Grand Slam, the trailblazer shares nuggets of truth that will stay with the youngster for the rest of her life. Pearls like trusting yourself first and that despite hardships, obstacles and hurdles, “winners find a way”.

That phrase becomes a mantra, in addition to nuggets like “one ball at a time” and “pressure is a privilege”. They keep bubbling up whenever a setback threatens or doubt begins to loom in this very fast paced production that makes a NASCAR race look like a sad jalopy crawl around a beat-up track. Wilson Chin’s scenic design bubbles over with the green of a lush grass tennis court. Joined by David Bengali’s splendid projections and videos to enhance both intimacy and excitement, the show’s production components are nothing less than stunning.

Despite being a world celebrity and cultural exemplary for over half a century, there’s probably only a small percentage of the public who’re familiar with the fact Billie Jean King was once Billie Jean Moffitt. Married to Larry King in her early 20s, well before she achieved the fame she enjoys today, aspects of her private life are as fascinating as her career in tennis. Gunderson’s honest penetrating writing, coupled with Chilina Kennedy’s superb performance as King, exposes the heroic internal growth the tennis star experienced outside the limelight as well as in. It’s an aspect of her story that proves every relationship is supremely unique.  The two decades she spent with her former husband testify to how poignantly inscrutable so many marriages can be.  Through his portrayal, Dan Amboyer as Larry King brought a level of compassionate regard to his role that one rarely has a chance to witness on stage or screen. Those scenes depicting Billie Jean King the person give expression to the play’s heart. The ones that recall King’s advocacy unleash its fire.  

Outrage doesn’t always spur action.  It did for King. Incensed that as the top performing player in her sport, she was not being justly compensated because of her sex, initially drew her ire. That pique then turned her into a tireless proponent for pay equity in sports. The legitimacy of her cause took time to take root and withstood considerable opposition before it gained traction. It was the prelude to the historic battle of the sexes in 1973 when King defeated Bobby Riggs in three straight sets. The victory was enormous and brilliantly brought back to thrilling life in Billie Jean.

When King fell in love her wife, Ilana Kloss, she had to make a choice. She’d already defended the right of transgender athlete, Rene Richards, to play in professional women’s tennis. Realizing it was necessary to show up with the same kind of bravery for herself, she set a standard for how to achieve true self-actualization. That model continues to inspire legions today.  

In Billie Jean, a lot more aspiring winners are handed the blueprint for finding their way through the transformative power of the arts.

Billie Jean

Through August 10, 2025

Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Navy Pier

800 E. Grand

Chicago, IL  60611

https://www.chicagoshakes.com/

Highly Recommended

*This review is also featured on https://www.theatreinchicago.com/!