Billie Jean the Play has Played in California and Chicago. The Dream Now: Broadway!

She’s been carrying a flag, or more appropriately a racquet, for gender equality and LGBTQ+ rights in sports and society. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. She was the No. 1 female tennis player for decades. A global audience of 90 million people tuned in on their televisions one evening in 1973 and watched her whip Bobby Riggs in a tennis challenge billed as “The Battle of the Sexes.”

Title Nine will forever be connected to her name. Yes, she’s Billie Jean King and she will, as always, be front and center at the US Open—now underway in Queens—where the main arena carries her name.

A few things you may not know: King confesses she hates not finishing things, which is why she has returned to Cal State Los Angeles to finally get the college degree she forgot to have time for. (Her major is history, which she made, of course.) Says Richard Gallien, the tennis coach at the school, “I still recall when she came for the unveiling of a beautiful statue of her in front of the Athletic Department. She was electric.”

My current journalistic beat is theater and, yep, Billie Jean is in that world now too. Three years ago, I went to La Jolla, Calif., to see a new show called Love All. It was written by Anna Deveare Smith and starred an actress from the Upper West Side (where Billie also has a home) named Chillina Kennedy. There was work to be done and, sure enough, a new playwright—Lauren Gunderson—entered the picture. And this past month the show, now called Billie Jean, played for a successful month in Chicago.

I asked Gunderson what her goals were when taking on the project. “I knew I wanted the first act to be the story of a woman fighting for the community of women,” she told me, “and the second to be a woman fighting for herself. I read as much as I could about her life and philosophy, both in terms of tennis and in terms of the feminist politics that influenced her. But it really clicked into me when I let myself ask, What makes this story theatrical? That’s when I came to write the women’s chorus that bolsters and guides and supports the entire play.

“It’s written to be a community story as much as it is the story of Billie Jean King herself.”

The main driving force here is New Yorker Harriet Leve, who has a hefty theater background (including another King play—as in Carole King) and she has never given up hope on this one. “Billie Jean King is a very important role model, and hers is an amazing story of triumph, devastation, and rebuilding to ultimately lead a true life,” says Leve. She reminds us that this is more than just a woman overcoming the odds to become a legend.

“This play has an abundance of humor and drama and really touches your heart. Women and men of all ages are drawn to this play.”

Impressively, while much has changed in the script, the leading lady has remained. Chillina Kennedy has a powerful voice and a lovely presence. “This experience means a tremendous amount to me,” she says. “It’s such an important story. Not just about the wins and losses on a tennis court, but about equal pay and women in general.”

Playing such an icon was thrilling, if a bit intimidating, for the performer. “As an artist, I love portraying real people, especially if they are still alive. It’s a way to help preserve their legacy. Billie Jean was fearless, and she always persevered.”

The actress and the icon managed to find important time together. “We spent a couple of hours together in person and over Zoom,” says Kennedy, “mostly just talking about her life. She’s been very generous with me when she didn’t need to. The show has a lot of buzz, and I’m so happy they trust me to carry the story.”

All the principals have high hopes for this one. I asked Leve if we can assume the dream is to bring BillieJean to Broadway. “Yes, you can,” she says. Curtain up.

Michele Willens hosts Stage Right or Not on thePBS station robinhoodradio.