THE KING & I Reviews- Page 2

[Auggie27]

Posted: 4/16/15 at 7:38pm

Though a poor "King and I" is possible, it's improbable, since the it's one of the most perfect theater pieces ever created. Few shows have both epic sweep and great moment by moment intimacy, and a story so fully deserving of every flourish, and the running time.  If traditional staging values (starting with some preservation of the genius that Robbins wrought) are maintained and the text and score carefully negotiated, it's almost impossible to ruin.  Almost.  Of course, there's no danger of anything close to that here. It's more a question of how successful these elements coalesce, based on expectation. 

[MichelleCraig]

Posted: 4/16/15 at 8:01pm

The review's not up yet, but it's a New York Times Critic's Pick...

[ljay889]

Posted: 4/16/15 at 8:05pm

That's a good start!!

[ljay889]

Posted: 4/16/15 at 8:11pm

Time Out is 5 stars and very Positive

Lincoln Center Theater's The King and I arrives this spring much like the ship Chow Phya heaves into view of Bangkok on the Vivian Beaumont stage: a majestic vessel of excellent construction, expertly piloted and bringing with it many wonderful things—starting with Kelli O'Hara. What's more, in a year of bland nostalgic revivals, this grand and glorious production gives you hope in the nonprofit stewardship of our theatrical heritage. Artistic revolutions and usurpations have shaken Broadway over the decades, but Rodgers and Hammerstein's timeless lessons about empathy and equality bear repeating.

http://www.timeout.com/newyork/theater/the-king-and-i

[Skimbleshanks2]

Posted: 4/16/15 at 8:24pm

NBC New York's positive and raves Kelli:

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/entertainment/the-scene/Review-LCT-King-And-I-Ohara-Watanabe-300070071.html 

[MichelleCraig]

Posted: 4/16/15 at 8:28pm

I was just thinking... I wonder if the New York Times waits 'til after intermission to post reviews online? That way, the cast conceivably wouldn't be distracted during the opening night performance...

If that's the plan, it should be up any minute, right?

[candydog2]

Posted: 4/16/15 at 8:31pm

Looks like this message board got a little mention in the NBC New York review too...

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 4/16/15 at 8:48pm

A perfect night of theater.  From beginning to end, it is glorious. Better than I even expected. Three hours speed by. I never wanted it to end. 

[ceisen]

Posted: 4/16/15 at 9:00pm

The Wall Street Journal is a rave: "Bliss at Lincoln Center" The reviewer says:

"I doubt I'll see a better production of "The King and I" in my lifetime."

 

Updated On: 4/16/15 at 09:00 PM

[Auggie27]

Posted: 4/16/15 at 9:03pm

The WSJ review is very moving.  Sometimes, when they like something, it's just such an embrace.

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 4/16/15 at 9:05pm

"Looks like this message board got a little mention in the NBC New York review too..."

This board is not by far the only place where folks have been griping about Wantanabe's diction.

"I wonder if the New York Times waits 'til after intermission to post reviews online?"

They customarily wait until the final curtain has fallen.

Updated On: 4/16/15 at 09:05 PM

[ljay889]

Posted: 4/16/15 at 9:14pm

Deadline basically a Rave, but has issues with Ken's accent.

http://deadline.com/2015/04/ken-watanabe-king-and-i-peter-sarsgaard-hamlet-opening-review-1201411292/

[Skimbleshanks2]

Posted: 4/16/15 at 9:28pm

Rave from The Hollywood Reporter:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/king-i-theater-review-789315

[Musical Master]

Posted: 4/16/15 at 9:33pm

Rave from Newsday which reported Watanabe's diction as being "clear":

http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/theater/the-king-and-i-review-sumptuous-musical-theater-1.10271477

Updated On: 4/16/15 at 09:33 PM

[NYadgal]

Posted: 4/16/15 at 9:48pm

I'm FINALLY seeing this tomorrow night.  

For so very many reasons, I'm anticipating a beautiful, emotional and perfect night.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 4/16/15 at 9:53pm

I'm glad there are such raves. It will be glorious performance tomorrow night. One to remember.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 4/16/15 at 9:54pm

SOOOOO happy to read these reviews.

[ljay889]

Posted: 4/16/15 at 9:56pm

Very Positive from Huffington Post, but some issues with Ken's diction.

 The results, at the Beaumont, leave us shaking our heads in wonderment at just how good this "Something Wonderful" musical is -- although first time viewers are more likely to simply be swept away by the saga of Anna and the King of Siam. This King and I is excellent, although it does not soar quite so much as South Pacific. No matter; full value is given, and it's a treasure to have the show back on the Broadway boards after a seventeen-year absence.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steven-suskin/aisle-view-rh-return-to-l_b_7083490.html

[broadwayfan24]

Posted: 4/16/15 at 9:56pm

After all the mixed to negative reviews for the past few show openings (with the exception of An American in Paris). It's nice to see some raves.

[ceisen]

Posted: 4/16/15 at 9:59pm

Hopefully Kelli will FINALLY get her very long-deserved Tony! She's the perfect Anna just as Donna Murphy was 20 years ago.

[ucjrdude902]

Posted: 4/16/15 at 9:59pm

Is it finally Kelli's year after these reviews?

[broadwayfan24]

Posted: 4/16/15 at 10:01pm

I think her only stiff competition is Kristin Chenoweth this year. I haven't seen 20th Century yet, but I've heard she's amazing in it. I'm crossing my fingers for Kelli though.

[ljay889]

Posted: 4/16/15 at 10:03pm

A favorite won't be decided until we see Chita's reviews, and once Brantley and Isherwood announce their predictions. 

Updated On: 4/16/15 at 10:03 PM

[Robbie2]

Posted: 4/16/15 at 10:03pm

https://www.didhelikeit.com/shows/the-king-and-i-review.html

Ben Brantley

April 16, 2015: A big, scrupulously detailed 19th-century ship glides toward the audience in the opening moments of Bartlett Sher’s resplendent production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “The King and I,” which opened on Thursday night at the Vivian Beaumont Theater. It’s an impressive sight, worthy of every “oooh” it elicits. But its presence wouldn’t count for nearly as much if it weren’t carrying such precious cargo. That’s the determined, hopeful, anxious woman in a hoop skirt who runs onto the deck, toward the ship’s prow, and into our field of vision as if in cinematic close-up. Her name is Anna Leonowens, and she is played, you lucky theatergoers, by Kelli O’Hara. One look at her face, agleam with intelligence and apprehension, and you suspect you’re in the hands of a guide you can trust. Then she starts to sing. And even if the familiar song she delivers (“I Whistle a Happy Tune&rdquo usually makes you cringe, your confidence in her — and the Lincoln Center Theater production in which she appears — starts to soar. It will stay contentedly aloft for the next 2 hours and 50 minutes. As you probably already know, Mrs. Leonowens’s task in this 1951 musical is to educate a passel of royal Siamese pupils in the ways of the West. The job of Ms. O’Hara — and that of Mr. Sher and Ken Watanabe, the commanding Japanese film star who portrays the King of Siam — is to educate 21st-century audiences in the enduring and affecting power of a colonialist-minded musical that, by rights, should probably embarrass us in the age of political correctness.

 

Updated On: 4/16/15 at 10:03 PM

[broadwayfan24]

Posted: 4/16/15 at 10:03pm

Raves from the NY Post