Hoon Lee in THE KING AND I - Page 3

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 11/20/15 at 3:03am

" I've seen all three kings. For what it's worth, I still think that Watanabe had the most command of the stage and the most intimidating presence. It's been a long time since I saw him in a preview and I'd really have to see him again to compare him to the other two. I had no trouble understanding him, but so many did, even after the first month, that something must have been at work here they we don't understand that governed whether you had trouble understanding him."

 

I agree with every word you've said. Hoon Lee is wonderful, but I hope Watanabe returns.

Updated On: 11/20/15 at 03:03 AM

[bfreak]

Posted: 12/3/15 at 4:06pm

I saw this last night for my second time and all I can say is wow. This entire cast and show is in such great shape and they perform as if they just opened a week ago. Kelli O'Hara was stunning as always and everyone else as well. I have to give it up to Hoon Lee. He is just mesmerizing as the king. Every move he makes, facial expression, and words that he projects are so captivating and believable. He is absolutely amazing.

I saw Watanabe the first time and I have to say I really loved both performances because they each brought something different and captivating to the King. I felt a great presence and sensuality from Watanabe, while Lee gives an extremely commanding stage prescence with a bit more humanity. If I were you, I would see Hoon Lee now. And then if Ken comes back, see it again. This is a show that should be seen more than once.

And btw, I am in amazement how fast this has slowed down in terms of box office. The loge only looked about 1/4 full and I was comped via a membership with excellent orchestra seats in the 100s. I hope this show pulls through and has a longer shelf life than is expected.

[bfreak]

Posted: 12/3/15 at 4:09pm

I typed this with paragraphs, but I don't know why they're not showing up.

[haterobics]

Posted: 12/3/15 at 4:09pm

*goosing another page to be created by the broken BWW software*

[haterobics]

Posted: 12/3/15 at 4:10pm

bfreak said: "I typed this with paragraphs, but I don't know why they're not showing up."

 

You were post #50, every 25 posts BWW doesn't know what to do, since the post to create a new page and the last one it wants to display are at odds.

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 12/4/15 at 2:26am

I, too, have been surprised by the lukewarm attendance at the time of the approach of the holidays when attendance is usually strong. South Pacific played just short of two years, and most, including critics, who have seen both productions have trouble choosing the one that they most enjoyed.

 

Some have said that TK&I is a little stale versus SP since it has been revived more often. There was the 1996 production starring Donna Murphy and Lou Diamond Phillips that played 980 performances, long enough to see Marie Osmond take over as Anna from Faith Prince. In 2003 there was a popular production at Paper Mill.

 

Maybe we are just seeing the dumbing down of Broadway. The first great transformation of the Broadway musical was led by Show Boat and Oklahoma. The "book" musical became essentially a play enhanced by music (see Something Rotten). 

 

Now, beginning with the arrival of the jukebox musical, we may be moving again into a darker period. Not that Jersey Boys and Beautiful are not wonderfully entertaining, but these shows do not have original scores and are driven by the audience response to all the hit songs that they already know.

 

If these shows and others with no serious book to speak of are now mainstream Broadway, then perhaps Broadway is gradually ending its era of the book musical, which lasted roughly from Hammerstein and his collaborators to Sondheim and his book writers Lapine and others. The musical has become as light and airy as the musicals of the twenties and thirties, where audiences (or should I say the mass audiences) do not have to struggle with a book or an unfamiliar score that they might not like.

 

Broadway is too expensive for many to gamble on a show that they might not like. The majority of the current pool of theatergoers has been raised on a trashy pop culture, whereas at least much of its predecessors listened to trained musicians like Benny Goodman and Louis Armstrong and most of its pop hits were written by skilled composers who had emigrated to the United States to escape oppressive governments.

 

I think that Kelli will probably exit The King and I in January, or at least by February. No point in hanging around performing to half full winter audiences when she has a hundred other offers to consider.

 

 

[UnwoundFantasies]

Posted: 12/4/15 at 11:59am

She's not leaving that soon. I'd expect her to be with King and I until it closes.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 12/6/15 at 7:19pm

I saw Fiddler last night for the second time, and I decided spur of the moment this morning to make this weekend a Bartlett Sher revival double feature weekend and caught The King and I this afternoon! I got a great seat at TKTs for 40% off. This production will never get old for me. I have seen it three times now, and I could easily see it thirty more. The entire cast is in top notch. I saw Kelli O'Hara back in March when I saw the show early in previews, but missed her when I went back a month or so ago. O'Hara (who was flawless at the third preview), has somehow managed to become even better in role. I honestly didn't think it was possible. Hoon Lee IS the King. His stage presence is something else. I am so glad I got to catch both of these top notch revivals again this weekend. Both of these productions are my favorites of 2015.

Updated On: 12/6/15 at 07:19 PM

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 12/14/15 at 5:48pm

Does anyone know if there are any scheduled absences coming up?

[haterobics]

Posted: 12/14/15 at 6:12pm

VintageSnarker said: "Does anyone know if there are any scheduled absences coming up?"

*Kelli O'Hara will not appear in the following performances:
- Sunday, December 20 at 3pm
- Tuesday, January 5th
-Tuesday, January 19th

 

And Conrad Ricamora has been tweeting from New Orleans, but could be returning in time for Tuesday's show?

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 12/14/15 at 7:32pm

UnwoundFantasies said: "She's not leaving that soon. I'd expect her to be with King and I until it closes.

 

You are right. Kelli's absences are now posted through the beginning of April. And City Center has her appearing there on the nights of April 28th and April 29th. She does have more days off. Maybe this was included in the contract so that she could do some concerts or other events. I was surprised to see her appearing at City Center in a performance of a Henry Purcell Baroque opera.

 

Having no even remote experience on the stage, it just seems to me that a performer would get tired of a grueling performance eight times a week, and playing to a half empty theater would take away the pleasure of playing to a live, appreciative audience. I must have it wrong.

 

So it looks like she may reunite with Watanabe and maybe the show will transfer to the West End.

 

 

[hypno68]

Posted: 12/23/15 at 10:21am

Ben Brantley returned to the show to review Hoon in the role. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/24/theater/the-king-and-i-with-hoon-lee-as-a-more-tragic-monarch.html?ref=theater&_r=0

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 12/24/15 at 3:22pm

I realized that I never checked in after seeing the show. While I still prefer Ken Watanabe's king, Hoon Lee did not disappoint. I got what I wanted from the experience which was the chemistry that many other posters have been commenting on between Anna and the king with this change in casting. The Shall We Dance polka worked this time. It really worked. The show also felt more balanced overall. I think Kelli has gotten even better and more comfortable in the part since I saw her in previews and Q, as an understudy for Ashley Park, gave a lovely understated performance. 

[adamgreer]

Posted: 12/24/15 at 4:57pm

Saw him yesterday afternoon and thought he was outstanding. I have no one to compare him to in this production, but I found him to be just wonderful. Very intense performance, particularly in the later scenes. He and O'Hara (who was also excellent) had great chemistry. 

[Soaring29]

Posted: 12/24/15 at 5:46pm

I would have loved to see him!  I saw it once with Watanabe and then again with Jose Lana.  Jose was quite great, but there's just no way of getting around his size for me.  You need a really tall, commanding king to make the part work to it's full potential.  Both Ashley Park and Ruthie Anne Miles were out that day.  Park's  standby did quite well- Ruthie's not so much.  She was a little too old for the part for me and there were some    timing mistakes in some of her songs.  It's hard to come in to a show where someone else has has been performing in it 8 times a week, but I missed Ruthie a lot.  That said,  Kelli was amazing as always.  I do hope they broadcast it on PBS  when the show gets closer to closing.  

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 12/25/15 at 6:48pm

Hoon Lee is the best of the three. The show is not closing anytime soon. There is a new King coming in after Ken and might bring in some people given he is a familiar face.

[theatreguy12]

Posted: 12/25/15 at 11:01pm

He got a hell of a review from Brantley, that's for sure.  Sounds like he's just awesome in the role.

Unfortunately by the time I get back to NY come March he might not be with the show anymore, but if not, I will be interested to see who is taking on the part.  

I was at least glad to see TKAI would be running through spring, and with Kelli still playing the role of Anna (at least she's not scheduled to be out the day I have planned to see the show).  

I didn't see it when I was in NY last spring as I have seen the show so many times, I wanted to spend my time checking out other shows.  

After all the hoopla and reviews though I really would like to see it now, and hopefully Kelli will be in the show that day.  With all the talk about her Tony-winning performance I want to see what she's bringing to the role.  Can't wait.

[Musical Master]

Posted: 12/29/15 at 8:12pm

Saw it last weekend and is it possible that a show could be improved by the performances alone? Well, Kelli O'Hara and Hoon Lee were the answer to that question. Kelli was great when I saw here in June after the Tony Awards but after witnessing it tonight, she is now freaking perfect in every department. Hoon Lee is just amazing in this role and I agree with some on here that he is the BEST King we have seen thus far, he even managed to outshine Ken Watanabe who was masterful in it. After the show my friend and I just said: "Wow! Who knew that Master Splinter could sing and act like a pro?".

 

It's still a great, stunning, and powerful show that just got better which is absolutely RARE on Broadway these days. Go see it now before Hoon Lee leaves the show, it was that great time to spend and I wouldn't have had it any other way, and it's nice to hear that Ken will return to the production in 2016.

[mpkie]

Posted: 12/29/15 at 8:49pm

This was the first time I saw The King and I, and Hoon Lee totally bowled me over. He was so on point. There was so much explosive and raw emotion, and I totally bought all of it!

[Musical Master]

Posted: 12/29/15 at 9:46pm

When Kelli O'Hara and Hoon Lee were fighting with each other during the whipping scene, the ENTIRE audience were stunned in silence, this is why Bartlett Sher is a master at what he does for actors in these master class revivals, that the performances feel so genuine and real that it's like as if the "acting" vanished and the action feels real in front of us. Hence when Hoon Lee as the King is about to whip Tuptim but hesitates, their was an audible gasp from some people.

[bopper]

Posted: 1/10/16 at 6:25pm

Just attended THe King and I with Hoon Lee on Jan 9 2016 at matinee show and it was packed...and I did tear up at the end. Fabulous!