The King and I

[gypsy4]

Posted: 8/25/10 at 2:12pm

I would love to see Lincoln Center Theatre and the team that brought us South Pacific Mount a Revival of The King and I. it could be incredible!

[rorschach37]

Posted: 8/25/10 at 2:18pm

There is a thread right below this one about musicals that you would want revived.

[Musicaldudepeter]

Posted: 8/25/10 at 2:19pm

I agree. They did such a fantastic job on Sth Pacific. I would love them to recreate the original material as best they can. I felt they screwed up a lot of the beautiful book and score for the 1996 Broadway/2000 London revivals, even though the designs for these productions were amazing.

[gypsy4]

Posted: 8/25/10 at 2:22pm

this is a thread directly for the King and I.

[madbrian]

Posted: 8/25/10 at 2:27pm

I believe this was discussed in another thread, and I was lukewarm to the idea, until someone mentioned Kate Baldwin as Anna. That got my attention. I could also see this as the vehicle to finally make Rachel York the star that she should be.

[backwoodsbarbie]

Posted: 8/25/10 at 2:30pm

I think LCT would do a fabulous job with The King & I and Kate Baldwin would be a lovely Anna. But after doing South Pacific, they may not want to be pigeonholed as only doing classic musicals.

[MsBroadwayFan]

Posted: 8/26/10 at 11:16am

I'm glad this thread was posted as I've also been thinking a lot about The King & I, especially after seeing the similarly outstanding South Pacific last May.

@MusicalDudePeter: My question to you is, how did they screw up the book/score in the '96 revival on Broadway? I'm just a fan, not a pro so I don't understand the technical/musical issues very well, but I was totally blown away by that production, especially Jose Llana and the replacement Tuptim (?), who cried real tears the two times I saw her during her beautiful renditions of "My Lord and Master" and "We Kiss in a Shadow" and "I Have Dreamed". I haven't experienced real beauty in the theater on that level until I saw SP at LCT and on PBS. King & I Bwy '96 was a lavish production and very well done in my humble opinion. Lou Diamond Phillips and Faith Prince were also very good in the lead roles.

I had also seen Yul Brynner's final performance as the King on Bwy in the early or mid 80's and that was great, too, but the '96......that one really got to me.

[ThankstoPhantom]

Posted: 8/26/10 at 12:42pm

^The '96 revival was magnificent, and the memory of it still moves me, as well.

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/26/10 at 12:45pm

The '96 revival did cut the overture and changed some of the musical arrangements/orchestrations. I'm not sure if they altered the book. They also cut "Western People Funny" as other productions do.

If LCT produces a revival, we can sure as hell bet we will hear that gorgeous overture in its entirety.

[newintown]

Posted: 8/26/10 at 12:48pm

It is a really terrific show. I always enjoy it.

I was reading this piece about Anna Leonowens recently. I'm always delighted to find out how fictional accounts based on real people/events stray from the reality. It doesn't affect the beauty of the fiction, but the reality can be equally fascinating.

It would be interesting to see a companion piece to K&I someday, about an Anna who is 1/4 Asian, ashamed of her origins,given to fictionalizing her experiences, etc.
The Real Anna Leonowens

[gypsy4]

Posted: 8/26/10 at 1:02pm

The King and I Overture is probably up there as one of the best written and orchestrated overtures and scores next to south pacific. I almost get tears when during the "something wonderful" section during the overture it gets me everytime.

[MsBroadwayFan]

Posted: 8/26/10 at 1:17pm

@agypsy4 - I feel the same as you do about the overture and score in general. The "My Lord and Master" number was over the top emotional in the '96 production with that replacement Tuptim (gotta figure out her name!!!) ..ah, if only it could have been preserved for eternity on DVD.



Updated On: 8/26/10 at 01:17 PM

[darquegk]

Posted: 8/26/10 at 5:03pm

Daniel Dae Kim, star of TV's LOST and HAWAII 5-0, recently played The King in London and was apparently quite good. Maybe he'd want to reprise the role over here if it went up- are there any other really good King candidates other than him at this point?

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 8/26/10 at 5:07pm

If HAWAII 5-0 turns out to be a hit I don't see Dae Kim committing to a stage show unless it's for a limited run.

Nonetheless I wouldn't mind seeing a revival of THE KING AND I, it's my favorite of the R&H musicals.

The last revival with Lou Diamond Phillips was amazing.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 8/26/10 at 5:47pm

I loved the '96 revival of The King and I. I think I saw it at least 7 times. Lou Diamond Phillips grew tremendously during his run as the King. Though I will admit Faith Prince was kind of an odd choice as Anna.

[MsBroadwayFan]

Posted: 8/26/10 at 6:08pm

@Dottie...
even though I only saw it twice, I still remember it so vividly - the overture; the glittering costumes; the gorgeous cast in their very brief and beautiful costumes, the singing/dancing/music...ah, it was a very sensual, moving and beautiful production. Do you have the Playbill by any chance? Would you know the name of the girl who was the replacement for Tuptim?

[binau]

Posted: 8/26/10 at 6:28pm

"This [what became the 96 revival] is the best production of the King and I I've ever seen - and I saw the original."

- Mary Rodgers.

Updated On: 8/26/10 at 06:28 PM

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/26/10 at 6:34pm

If some "visionary" director or producer wants to mess with one of the classics and update it or present it in a new way, this is the show. I say that because of the fascinating history of Anna Leonowens (aka Mrs. Leon Owens). Her whole backstory was fabricated by her own hand. She wasn't the widow of a naval sea captain at all. She made most of it up!

I would love to see a "musical within a play," where someone tells the real story of Anna Owens while showing scenes and songs from the musical in juxtaposition. They could use the Rodgers score as underscoring for the "true version."

Or we could just have Doyle revive it where everyone plays an instrument from Thailand.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 8/26/10 at 8:06pm

MsBroadway, I know I saw the replacement Tuptim as well the last time I saw that production, but for some reason IBDB doesn't list her. I don't have my Playbill anymore. I'm sorry Jose Llana rubbed you the wrong way. I was in a workshop of a musical with him during his run of The King and I, and he couldn't have been nicer and humble about his Broadway debut.

[MsBroadwayFan]

Posted: 8/26/10 at 8:29pm

Dottie, I didn't make myself clear enough...he was VERY nice both when I met him during the stage door after the performance, as well as when I contacted him in recent years...but something left me feeling as though he took it all (his B'wy debut, the R&H production, the music, etc.) more lightly (or shall we say, less reverently) than I would have thought he would have. Maybe it was just the impersonality of email...or maybe I'm just such a rabid fan that I think all involved should have loved that production as much as I did! Don't want to harm anyone's rep, so I'm going to edit my original comment and delete that story.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 8/26/10 at 8:41pm

MsBroadway, No need to edit your story since that was your experience. Sometimes its difficult to decifer the tone of ones email.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 8/26/10 at 9:08pm

You know, THE KING & I would really work well on the Beaumont stage.

At this point in his career, Diamond Phillips might be even better as the King of Siam than he originally was.

How about Elaine Paige as Anna?

[StageManager2]

Posted: 8/27/10 at 12:12am

"This [what became the 96 revival] is the best production of the King and I I've ever seen - and I saw the original."

Mary ROdgers said the exact same thing (almost verbatim) about the 1999 London revival of OKLAHOMA, on the DVD bonus feature.

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/27/10 at 12:14am

How about Elaine Paige as Anna?

She did the London revival and has her own cast recording.