CHICAGO — On “Abbott Elementary,” the breakout hit ABC sitcom that was recently renewed for a second season, Jacob is one of the newer teachers at the school. He can be fidgety and naive. Dorky as the day is long. His heart is always in the right (overeager) place. He’s a combination of thrumming nervousness and innate confidence — sometimes overconfidence — and combined, those qualities become extremely funny.
He’s played by Chris Perfetti, who is in Chicago through mid-April starring in a production of the new play “King James” — a story of two friends in Cleveland who bond over basketball, LeBron James and life itself — at Steppenwolf Theatre.
“This is my Chicago debut,” Perfetti said. The play was originally slated to premiere almost exactly two years ago, before being canceled due to the pandemic. It was a stroke of luck that Perfetti was available now; usually getting cast on a sitcom means there’s little time to squeeze in a play. But because filming on “Abbott Elementary” had already wrapped by November, Perfetti’s schedule was free a Steppenwolf run this spring.
