Laura Michelle Kelly & Jose Llana to Lead THE KING & I National Tour!- Page 3

[artscallion]

Posted: 10/30/16 at 7:10pm

Saw the first tour performance this afternoon. Bartlett Sher came out at the beginning to welcome us and ask for our patience and understanding since this was only the second run through after tech and the first run through had to be stopped 8 times for safety reasons.
I'm used to this because many tours begin in Providence and the first performance or two are always bumpy.

This performance though, was smooth as silk with lots of energy, no stops or problems and tons of talent. the show is not heavily scaled down. The boat starts the show and fills the stage. It just doesn't come out over the audience. But it still makes for an impressive start to the show.  The sets are all there, adapted to a proscenium house, obviously, but they are comparatively all they were at the Beaumont.
Laura Michelle was perfect. Totally at ease and at home in the role. Her voice suits the songs so well and she was just a pleasure to see and hear. LLana was great, as were all of the featured actors. This is definitely one of the best touring productions I've seen. Don't miss it.

[ljay889]

Posted: 10/30/16 at 7:32pm

That's great to hear!

[artscallion]

Posted: 10/30/16 at 8:13pm

Same gorgeous curtain. Hard to appreciate in pics, but in person, it's shimmery and vivid and lit from behind.

[Musical Master]

Posted: 10/31/16 at 12:17am

Incredibly heartwarming to know that the beauty of the Broadway revival is not scaled down at all for the proscenium stage. Michael Yeargan's sets were a wonder when I saw the revival twice. 

[broadwaysfguy]

Posted: 11/17/16 at 5:34pm

.stunning performances by laura michelle, Jose, cast and orchestra

I saw the OBC with Kelli and Ken, and this was a better overall experience for me(the lincoln center orchestra WAS stunning-this orchestra a 20 pieces were very strong).

I love love love Kelli, but Ken had the dialect issues and comic timing issues when i saw him. I also didnt sense as strong of a sexual chemistry between the pair

Laura Michelle and Jose have that chemistry, and also the back and forth had a playfulness about it at times that was enchanting.  Ive been in the Laura Michelle camp since seeing her crush Eliza role in My Fair Lady london-there are reasons she won the Olivier.  I predict she will replace Kelli in London which is why us out of towners are lucky enough to see Laura Michelle do her thing. Her voice, her mannerisms, everything, this role IS her-a pure joy to watch.

Supporting cast was also very strong, no ruthie miles here but very fine performances all around) I think the tour staging was fine-i noticed a few gears whirling loudly when the columns were moving but i was in the third row. the smaller boat at the beginning still was impressive (unless you saw the monster they hauled onstage at lincoln)

One of the top tours Ive ever seen of a musical where Ive also seen the original broadway cast, and one where I have to give the nod to the tour cast over the OBC based on the leads I saw.   

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 11/18/16 at 12:12am

Broadwaysfguy, thanks for the report! I just did an interview with Jose Llana for BroadwayWorld.com, and he's such a great guy. He raves about Laura Michelle Kelly's ''sexy vitality'' and her voice, and praises his co-stars Joan Almedilla (as Lady Thiang), Kavin Panmeechao (as Lun Tha) and Manna Nichols (as Tuptim). He also dished about making his Broadway debut two decades ago in ''The King and I,'' starring Lou Diamond Phillips, and why he only got through halfway of the 1956 movie, starring Yul Brynner.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/BWW-Exclusive-Jose-Llana-on-His-KING-AND-I-Tour-and-Why-He-Believes-Hope-Trumps-Hate-20161115

[PatrickDC]

Posted: 11/18/16 at 3:37am

Just saw the tour here in San Francisco. Beautiful all around. The orchestra, well, I never tire of hearing R+H played live. Superb. I didn't see the B'way production but read about the boat in this thread. It may not be quite as spectacular on tour but it's still an impressive "wow" set piece. After "Whistle" it splits in two and the pieces are moved to either side of the stage. Loved the columns and their movement. In Row N I could hear the whirring another poster commented on. I also think there might have been a sound issue as through most of the show, during the quieter book scenes, there was a...how do I explain this...continuous very soft dinging, like a timer or alarm clock going off continuously. Hardly noticeable, but I saw other patrons often looking to house left wondering about the sound. The chandelier, when making its entrance during the Act 2 dinner scene jerked a couple times causing it to sway for several minutes. I'm sure I wasn't the only theater buff saying, "He's here! The Phantom of the Opera!" :) By the way, the chandelier was laughable compared to the rest of the production. Tiny and cheap looking, and frankly very Western looking which seemed anachronistic to me. And with the giant Buddha set piece behind it, the chandelier looked even more silly. They should nix it. 

Question about the B'way production: Throughout Act 1, did lights flicker and flash on the backdrop? They did tonight. Given the "fireworks" comment early in the show, I thought maybe that's what they are. But there was no fireworks noise, and the actors made no reference to them. They flashed at the oddest times. It was absolutely distracting, like some lights were having issues. Then toward the end of Act 1 the backdrop went completely black, no more neon-ish blues and reds. While I was engaged in the performance I couldn't help but wonder that, between the sudden blackout and the flashing, they're really having lighting issues tonight. 

LMK was just perfect, as was Jose. Great chemistry. I'd had a loooong day of meetings at work and I was thinking I wouldn't make it sitting through nearly 3 hours but these two actors and the rest of the ensemble grabbed me. 

This is the first of six shows in the SHNSF season, including HAMILTON in March. Next up, speaking of LMK, is FINDING NEVERLAND in January. The season is off to a grand, magical, and wondrous start with TKAI. 

 

[broadwaysfguy]

Posted: 11/18/16 at 8:57pm

great article wayman, and patrick dc glad to hear you loved the sf cast as much as i did

yes the 2016-17 SHN season off to a fantastic start

Finding Neverland was honestly  a kinda weak musical when i saw the OBC, hope they have done something with the book to make it better.

[MarkBearSF]

Posted: 11/18/16 at 9:06pm

broadwaysfguy said: "Finding Neverland was honestly  a kinda weak musical when i saw the OBC, hope they have done something with the book to make it better."

Glad to hear the great reports. We're seeing it in 2 weeks. Still undecided on what to do with our FN tickets. Tempted to put them on StubHub, but still a bit curious (I avoided it in NY as well).

[Terracentric]

Posted: 11/18/16 at 9:31pm

Hi, I'm seeing King and I on Nov. 26. I chose mezzanine right row B instead of orchestra side right row L. I'm sort of feeling I should've gotten the orchestra side seat. What do you think? Thanks!

[PatrickDC]

Posted: 11/18/16 at 9:40pm

You'll have great seats. Last night the side orchestra left was less than half filled. If you sit on the far side of the orch you'll miss some action, not much, but enough to make it sort of unpleasant for nearly three hours. Frankly mezz will be great. In orchestra row N I had a tall guy in front of me and I missed parts of all the bowing action at center stage. Happily he moved over and my Act 2 was unobstructed. 

 

[broadwaysfguy]

Posted: 11/20/16 at 3:15pm

terracentric- this has a big cast and seating as close to center as possible is great, but you wont miss anything impt if you are more on the sides

 

Markbearsf-i was thinking the same thing about selling my finding neverland tix, but im always curious what different cast members do with the same material, so ill probably go anyway

Neverland has a number of good songs in it, and some good jokes.  I was entertained, but it wont be on any of my top musical lists, and were weinstein not behind this id be shocked to see it tour....

[MarkBearSF]

Posted: 12/2/16 at 2:31pm

I saw it last night and was wowed. A truly lush tour that is the equal of the Lincoln Center production. I loved Kelli, but Laura Michelle Kelly was magnificent and Jose Llana was as great as he was in NY. It was interesting seeing the two productions from two very different viewing perspectives. For the original, we were in the second row center of the thrust stage, so we had a close-up, almost intimate view of the actors and performances, whereas in SF, we were in rear orchestra (row V) and were able to fully appreciate the tableaux created for the proscenium staging.  The orchestra, singing and sound, in general was glorious - although those pillars WERE loud as they moved around the stage. ...and the curtain (or curtains?) is magnificent.

Highly recommended!

Updated On: 12/2/16 at 02:31 PM

[theatreguy12]

Posted: 12/4/16 at 6:49am

I was stoked to see Llana and Kelly cast in this.  Two powerhouses.  I had the privilege of seeing her in FN and thought she was charming.  I saw him in the 90s version of The King and I, and later in Flower Drum Song. As to the former, I still think he gives the best rendition of "I Have Dreamed" that I've ever heard.  His voice is beautiful.

I was fortunate to see this version of TKAI in NY earlier this year when Ken returned, so seeing he and KO was a real treat. Though I will still admit to liking Donna Murphy in the role just as much as KO....if not more.  I'm anxious to see LMK now.  I'm sure she'll be just amazing.  

And Jose....wow!  I was disappointed that I was going to miss him as the King earlier this year, but was happy to see Ken.  By all means.  

Getting to see Jose in the role now....Christmas has come early. So glad for this casting.

As for the opening boat scene, I'm bummed it has been shared.  I was hoping to be pleasantly surprised by how they pull it off on tour.  Obviously it wasn't going to be an exact replication, but thought they might do something interesting.  Now we know.  

I'll still enjoy it, even with the Lincoln Center image still in my head.  That was just so impressive.

Eagerly anticipating seeing this show again in LA in a couple of weeks.