Lun Ta in "The King and I"?

[JoJoKoKo1]

Posted: 12/26/06 at 3:55pm

What is the character Lun Ta like in "The King and I"? I ethnicity is he? Does he sing a lot? Thanks for any information.

[theaterdude87]

Posted: 12/26/06 at 3:59pm

He sings 2 songs with Tuptim...

from stageagent.com:
Lun Tha — A courtier who is in love with Tuptim.
Role: Supporting
Age: 17 - 27
Sex: M
Voice: Tenor

He is very in and out throughout the show...one minute he is in..wait 30 min then come back on.

[Jon]

Posted: 12/26/06 at 6:18pm

Ethnicity: Burmese

He sings two love duets with Tuptim: "We Kiss In A Shadow" and "I Have Dreamed". He hardly speaks at all.

By the way, this is not exactly an obscure musical. I'm pretty damned sure the movie is available on DVD and there are about a half dozen recordings.

Go to amazon.com and you can listen to brief clips of the songs.

[McFrenzied]

Posted: 12/26/06 at 7:18pm

Tuptim is Burmese and given to the King of Siam as his (sex) slave as a peace treaty. Lun Tha is her lover who follows her over from Burma. Theirs is the only real, passionate love we see in the play amidst a restrictive society based on strict codes of conduct. It's heartbreaking, really, and a fascinating story line. I wish we saw more of Lun Tha.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 12/26/06 at 7:39pm

In the movie he was portrayed by Carlos Rivas, who was of Mexican ancestry.

[cooperross]

Posted: 12/26/06 at 7:44pm

And Rita Morena played Tuptim.

Your point? Other than in Hollywood it was perfectly acceptable to cast people of different ethnicities to play Burmese lovers?

[theaterdude87]

Posted: 12/26/06 at 7:46pm

I have done the show twice. It is very easy to yawn in the death scene to make it look like your crying.

[keen on kean]

Posted: 12/26/06 at 7:54pm

I believe Lun Ta didn't follow Tuptim to Siam but was part of the delegation sent with her to the King.

[kec]

Posted: 12/26/06 at 7:57pm

"I believe Lun Ta didn't follow Tuptim to Siam but was part of the delegation sent with her to the King."

It's been awhile since I saw the film, but I am fairly certain that this is correct.

[McFrenzied]

Posted: 12/26/06 at 9:25pm

Oh, you know, Keen, I think you may be right. Still, there was gold to be mined in that relationship. True love or duty to country. It's epic, and I don't think I've ever seen a Lun Tha and Tuptim that played the stakes as high as I think they could go. But what do I know?

[keen on kean]

Posted: 12/26/06 at 11:53pm

Hi - McFrenzied - I think it was true love - my point was that he accompanied her on the trip to the King of Siam, and it was during the journey together that they fell in love. I saw a revival of The King and I in 1989 and I wish I kept the program. It was a touring company and of all people Rudolf Nureyev was the King! He couldn't sing worth a damn but I remember his anger at Tuptim's betrayal was so strong it was scary. After all, it was not only personal (corrupting the girl who was a gift) but inter-national (an insult by a Burmese national to the Siamese head of state). The director should make that feel very high stakes because the King's irrational anger is what makes the British delegation realize that all the "civilization" is only a veneer. Nice point!

[keen on kean]

Posted: 12/26/06 at 11:54pm

Hi - McFrenzied - I think it was true love - my point was that he accompanied her on the trip to the King of Siam, and it was during the journey together that they fell in love. I saw a revival of The King and I in 1989 and I wish I kept the program. It was a touring company and of all people Rudolf Nureyev was the King! He couldn't sing worth a damn but I remember his anger at Tuptim's betrayal was so strong it was scary. After all, it was not only personal (corrupting the girl who was a gift) but inter-national (an insult by a Burmese national to the Siamese head of state). The director should make that feel very high stakes because the King's irrational anger is what makes the British delegation realize that all the "civilization" is only a veneer. Nice point!
Updated On: 12/26/06 at 11:54 PM

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 12/27/06 at 12:00am

He should have a nice chest and it should be exposed.

[McFrenzied]

Posted: 12/27/06 at 12:31am

You're absolutely right, Keene, wish I had seen that production. The musical would be much more epic if they had drawn out the events surrounding Lun Tha and Tuptim to its natural conclusion. As it is, it almost feels like they stopped short of it. For instance, I've always thought how amazing it would be if we actually got to witness the scene where Luntha is killed with Tuptim pleading for his life. Perhaps that's a 2006 take on the story and would have been too much for the audiences back then, but it certainly would have shown us the ferocity of this King and the rules he lived by. I've heard that the film was and is still banned in Thailand. That there were gross historical inaccuries in the R & H's portrayal of King Rama IV. Anyone have any info on this?

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Posted: 12/27/06 at 11:54am

And Rita Morena played Tuptim.

Your point? Other than in Hollywood it was perfectly acceptable to cast people of different ethnicities to play Burmese lovers?

Speaking of this, on Seth's chatterbox, Kristin Chenoweth mentioned that she actually played Tuptim in a production of The King and I and Lady Tiang was played by a black woman with a huge Texas twang. Cheno also played the shark girl in West Side Story, the one that Anita argues with in America.

Updated On: 12/27/06 at 11:54 AM