THE KING & I Reviews — Page 7

I saw this the other night and enjoyed it pretty thoroughly, much to my surprise. The cast is admirable, the orchestra plays beautifully, I was just beside myself with delight more than once. Seriously, if Ms. O'Hare's "Getting To Know You" doesn't make you happy, you're pretty much beyond reclamation.

Alas, Mr. Watanabe pretty well botched "A Puzzlement" and that lovely little bit about blossoms and bees -- he was simply unintelligible, his accent got in the way and I couldn't make head or tail out of what he was saying. He fared better with the prayer at the end of the first act. An admirable performance overall, though.

An admirable production -- I got a lot out of it.

Is there a track list yet?

You can go to the theater and ask/wait for cancellation line tickets. LCT is a subscription-based house so cancellation tickets are most likely going to be available.

Caught this last night. Bill and Hillary Clinton were in attendance, as was Sarah Jessica Parker. Pretty cool! Bartlett Sher was present as well.

It was my first exposure to The King and I. I thought it was wonderful. Kelli O'Hara delivers a stunning, honest, and beautiful portrayal of another classic character recognized by Broadway legends of the past. Whether it is at Kelli O'Hara's advantage or disadvantage during award season, she continues to do this every few seasons on Broadway. She was stunning. Her Anna is very calculated, strong minded, and a bit of a force to be reckoned with. The scene during Shall We Dance was her strongest - and I think it's her choices in this number that could push her into the winner's circe on June 7.

Ken Watanabe was excellent. Hilarious, heartwarming, and convincing are all words I'd use to describe his performance. His singing wasn't anything to be desired (which I know isn't completely different to compare - but Kelli O'Hara's counterpart last time she was at Lincoln Center in a Sher directed show by R&H was one of the best voices I've heard in a while, Paulo Szot). The King's chemistry was Anna was perfect. The rest of the cast was excellent and their voices soared.

I've been a fan of Sher's direction for years. I've got his big shows and Off-Broadway show as well. To me, he's brilliant. That ship's entrance was breathtaking, the movement of the set pieces and props is gracefully, the staging in that space is near perfect. It reminded me of a frequent Emmy Awards debate of cable networks vs. premium cable. I feel that Lincoln Center is that premium cable - the casts, the spaces, the director. And Sher brings this to his audiences in an excellent way each time.

Bravo to the cast and creative team. I wish it luck for each award on June 7 and all awards leading up to then.

Wonderful review MusicAndPassion.

Tonight, THE KING AND I won three Outer Critic Circle Awards for Revival of a Musical, Best Costume Design and for Ruthie Ann Miles' performance as Lady Thiang.

Kelli was perfect, as expected and the kids are precious! Can't wait to see this!

There's usually a track list out by now, right? I hope the release date doesn't get pushed back.

I guess we know the main songs will be there but I'm curious to know which reprises they recorded and whether or not they recorded "Small House of Uncle Thomas."

Music and Passion we were at the same performance! I saw SJP but I guess I missed the Clintons! Darn it!

I saw The King and I last night and was enthralled from the moment I walked in the theatre. The sets are gorgeous and the overture really sets the tone and transports the audience - I was truly able to shut off the outside world.

Kelli O'Hara was flawless. Her voice is just so perfect and her acting in this role is perfect. She did a great job showing personality with Anna's clever, witty lines and then just gutted me with the more serious scenes. She makes very difficult work look easy, especially with her singing that seems almost effortless. "Shall We Dance" was breathtaking. I've seen all the best actress Tony nominees but Leanne Cope (will see soon) and if I were voting, I'd be giving it to Kelli.

II had read a lot on here about Ken Watanabe's diction problems, but also that they had improved. "A Puzzlement" had some issues still but I was able to look past that because of the rest of his performance. I thought he was a great King and captured the nuances of a complex man.

I hadn't heard a lot of talk about Ashley Park's Tuptim and was blown back the first time I heard her sing. She has a beautiful voice and did a wonderful job. I was equally impressed by Ruthie Ann Miles as Lady Thiang, who is one of my favorite characters in musical theatre.

Btw I did stage door this which was a little unique. There were maybe 15 people milling about by the stage door and even though they have that built in barrier, the performers didn't use it to form a line - they walked past it and stood in the lobby (aka no buffer for the crazy). Both Ken Watanabe and Kelli O'Hara signed autographs but it was more like a cluster of people rotating in for their turn. It worked out fine but one guy ahead of me really spent too much time with both of them, especially Kelli. She clearly tried to break away from him several times but he was going on (positively) about her acting choices and vocal abilities. It was just inappropriate and I felt badly for her. She was very gracious though as was Watanabe, who had several Japanese fans there.

NJ_BroadwayGirl, I couldn’t agree with your review/thoughts on the show more. I’ve seen the show twice since it opened and absolutely love it. You summed it up so well I’ll just comment on one of the many scenes I loved. When Anna went to the King and had to guess what he was going to do so that he wouldn’t seem like a barbarian – thought Kelli and Ken both nailed that scene. Her subtle eye rolls and sighs in reaction to his acting choices were fantastic.

Thanks for sharing that article!

As many times as I've seen The King and I, I guess I've never seen the role of Anna as being all that complex. Especially for a good actress. The way this performance is being described, it sounds like it's being played exactly how Anna should be played. And it seems like a good actress of O'Hara's caliber should be able to do that.

Now, Chenoweth's role in OTTC….that is what I would consider a complex role.