KING AND I Revival a possibility- Page 3

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 2/17/11 at 11:54am

I loved the '96 revival and really can see any of the actresses mentioned so far as Anna. My personal favorites would be Vicky Clark and Christiane Noll.

Reginald, your idea is inspired casting!

[Brick]

Posted: 2/17/11 at 1:31pm

Well, O'Hara is definitely a lock for this one. It'll be her Tony role.

That said, I think this programming choice is a little dangerous since expectation will be very, very high after SOUTH PACIFIC.

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 2/17/11 at 1:40pm

Laura Benanti would be wonderful but she's a little young. Maybe Carolee Carmello could do it. What a voice.

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 2/17/11 at 2:50pm

Dottie, it's funny you mention that because Christiane actually provided the singing voice of Anna for the animated version of The King and I.

[singtopher]

Posted: 2/17/11 at 2:54pm

LOVE the Audra idea. I love me some Carolee Carmello, but I just don't think her voice is a good match for the score.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 2/17/11 at 2:55pm

Carmello is now attached to "Rebecca", which is a tony winning role as well.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 2/17/11 at 3:24pm

Didn't Carolee Carmello play Anna in Papermill's production?

[madbrian]

Posted: 2/17/11 at 3:38pm

We can disagree on Anna, with my choices being Clark or Baldwin, but can we all agree that the only viable option for the King would be Alec Mapa?

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 2/17/11 at 3:44pm

Alec used to do the funniest bit on an (imaginary) exchange between Anna and Lady Thiang, about Rita Moreno as Tuptim.

"'Lady Thiang, why are they laughing at her?'

"'Oh, Mrs. Anna, they are laughing because she is from Burma!

"And I used to think, 'No, they're laughing because she's from Puerto Rico.'"

[PalJoey]

Posted: 2/17/11 at 3:51pm

But no one's head can be higher than the King's!

If Alec Mapa plays the King, everyone will have to walk around like Christopher Sieber in Shrek!

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 2/17/11 at 5:07pm

Adore Audra. Would love to hear her sing the material. I don't think Mrs. Anna is a role that in a full production can be color blind cast. There is too strong a racial element to the story, and the fact that a huge part of the second act revovles around a ballet based on the slave issuses of the then current UNCLE TOM'S CABIN would make a black Mrs. Anna awkward to say the very least.

Anna has been played in major productions by women as young as their late twenties (Barbara Cook). I don't see any reason why Laura Benanti would be too young to do it.

I would as others have said put money on O'Hara who if not an especially outside of the box idea would probably be glorious.

[NYadgal]

Posted: 2/17/11 at 5:36pm

I can't visualize who I would love to see as the King...

Brian Stokes Mitchell? (But, there again, does this show lend itself to color blind casting?)

BD Wong, certainly...


I worship Kelli O'Hara. And Victoria Clark. Either one would have me spending far more than I should on tickets to this...

[ljay889]

Posted: 2/17/11 at 5:44pm

There is too strong a racial element to the story, and the fact that a huge part of the second act revovles around a ballet based on the slave issuses of the then current UNCLE TOM'S CABIN would make a black Mrs. Anna awkward to say the very least.

That's an excellent and true point.

I would be happy with either Benanti or O'Hara. But I still say it will inevitably be O'Hara.
Updated On: 2/17/11 at 05:44 PM

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 2/17/11 at 5:54pm

They should get someone young and sexy for the king. King and I has always been missing sex appeal.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 2/17/11 at 6:44pm

It's funny that so many are saying you can't have a black Anna because of the racial element, and yet apparently having a white king isn't a problem.

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 2/17/11 at 6:59pm

I think almost any of the women mentioned would be glorious. It'll ultimately come down to whoever's take on the role fits Sherr's overall concept/view of the piece.

Jose Llana for the King? Just throwing the name out there since he was in the last revival, but as Lun.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 2/17/11 at 7:22pm

Yes to Jose Llana!

[Edna Turnblad]

Posted: 2/17/11 at 7:44pm

I can certainly see Kate or Kelli or many of the others mentioned as Anna. Though Victoria Clark would certainly be wonderful, I would prefer Kate Baldwin. If she did it, I would find a way to be there.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 2/17/11 at 11:17pm

I would love to see Victoria Clark or Laura Benanti play the part. I also think Andrea McArdle would be good.

[ahhrealmonsters]

Posted: 2/17/11 at 11:36pm

Yes yes yes yes. The '96ish revival was my first Broadway show.

And yes yes yes to Jose Llana as the King. He was in the last revival, and I've worked with him- he's a phenomenal actor, singer, performer, everything, and a sweetheart.

[ljay889]

Posted: 2/18/11 at 2:10am

I had no idea the 1996 revival received a not so great review from the Times. How were the rest??

http://theater.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?id=1077011432556&html_title=&tols_title=&byline=&fid=NONE&scp=2&sq=the%20king%20and%20i%20lou%20diamond&st=cse

[jewishboy]

Posted: 2/18/11 at 4:48am

I agree that there are strong racial elements in this musical, but couldn't a black Anna make it more interesting and complex? My vote is for Audra, she would be brilliant.

[peachesr]

Posted: 2/18/11 at 7:21am

This could be brilliant if done truly opulently. I would think they'd be unlikely to cast a black Anna purely because Anna Leonowens was a real woman despite the fact that the event within the show are fictionalised. O' Hara or Benanti do seem the most obvious, I would think the King would be the harder part to cast, it's always a difficult role to fill. Damn that Yul Brynner and his brilliance!

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 2/18/11 at 7:40am

The 1977 revival of The King and I was my second Broadway show. Yul Brynner was a huge disappointment. He mumbled his lines throughout the entire performance I saw. I was bored out of my mind because I couldn't understand a word he said. Even my grandmother said she couldn't understand him.

I went into the '96 revival with some trepidation and was amazed at how much I actually enjoyed the show. So much so, I saw that revival 9 times. I really liked Lou Diamond Phillips' performance and how much he grew in the role during his run.

So nice there are a number of actresses who would seem to be wonderful as Anna, but agree that the King is going to be interesting to cast.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 2/18/11 at 7:59am

Peachser, you're right. But I'd like to point out the flip side of that coin: the king was a real (Asian) person, too--and he's usually been played by a caucasian actor, and no one blinks.