The King and I previews thread - Page 20

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 4/6/15 at 12:50pm

 

I don't like it when all the orchestra, orchestra left, and orchestra right seats are held away from the general public. All for subscribers? Did American Express card holders get first crack? I've iterated through all the dates and found no center orchestra seats in the first ten rows available, except that occasionally a seat or two pops up. In fact, I found a row 1, orchestra center right seat that I did not snap up.

 

I know how it is recommended to not get as close to the stage as you can, because you will take in the whole production from further back.

 

But for this show this goes out the window. I was in row F (the first row, Orchestra right, and I never had such an intimate theater experience. The seat was about fifteen feet from the forward right corner of the proscenium. Anna and Lady Thiang both stepped up into that corner several times, looked right at me (and I suppose the rest of the audience also) and sang. And it wasn't like there was an audience/stage relationship. It was more like we were both in the same living room.

 

When Anna was seated watching the ballet, at my corner, on a small stool, a caught the strong sweet scent of whatever powder they had thrown on her face.

[mamaleh]

Posted: 4/6/15 at 3:22pm

Question: can LincTix be purchased only online? Or can a LincTix member purchase tix at the box office? (Daughter's inquiry)

[prouvaire]

Posted: 4/6/15 at 4:15pm

You can buy Linctix at the box office.

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 4/6/15 at 6:14pm

Some Photos Have Just Been Released!

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 4/6/15 at 6:19pm

Stunning pictures!! I know I'm going to sound like a broken record but I'm going to be so upset if my seats are that bad.  

[ljay889]

Posted: 4/6/15 at 6:51pm

Wow. A lot of pics! Are they still using those hideous hanging vines in the garden scenes?

[bfreak]

Posted: 4/6/15 at 7:08pm

OlBlueEyes, were you in the 400s or 500s?

[Jersey Girl2]

Posted: 4/6/15 at 8:16pm

"Jersey Girl, if you read through the thread, many of us have had trouble understanding Ken.

 "

I did.  I was wondering after I saw the show, before I read here.  But thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Musical Master]

Posted: 4/6/15 at 9:31pm

Holy moly! The production is stunning to say the least! After looking at the pictures, I must say I really like Michael Yeargan's version of the set design, simple but elegant. SOUTH PACIFIC used it, why not THE KING AND I?

Catherine Zuber might get her Tony Award for the beautiful costumes, I just know it.

[Bilbo3]

Posted: 4/6/15 at 9:37pm

Going off the pictures, the set design for the palace is very intriguing. It almost looks like it would be better suited for a sound stage on film rather than a Broadway show. Either way, It's very bombast and look like it has a huge scope. Very interesting.

[Charley Kringas Inc]

Posted: 4/6/15 at 9:49pm

Wow, the depth is terrific but that sure is a wall.

[mamaleh]

Posted: 4/7/15 at 1:24am

Thanks for the info, Prouvaire.

[broadway_show_fan]

Posted: 4/7/15 at 5:23pm

OlBlueEyes - to be fair, you were only in the "first row" because you were right behind the stairs/tunnel that is used for entrances and exits. The first row of the orchestra is C, so you were in the fourth row (in a theater with nicely raked seating) which provides a good amount of distance but intimacy. It's just my opinion, but I  happen to think that the first couple of rows is maybe too close if you're going once - and I sat in the 2nd row, row D, but chose to do so because I wanted to see up-close or detail and expressions and my other seats are 1st row loge.

bfreak - sorry I took awhile to respond. I think your seat in M will provide a great view of the boat and the effect. I'm guessing, but you might be even with the front tip of the boat (is that the bow? I have very limited boat vocabulary skills). The front tip of the boat juts out and faces toward the 200s, so you should be able to see it well. Anna and Louis keep exchanging positions so it'll alternate seeing their faces.

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 4/8/15 at 3:45am

 

BSW, having always been good with numbers and the alphabet, I already knew where I was seated. Perhaps you did not notice that the furthest corner of the proscenium ends at the top of the staircase through which the actors and actresses make their entrances and exits. That is why the actresses walked out there and, looking out over the audience, sang. I'm sure that the second row of orchestra center is a great seat, but I would have to turn my head to see Kelli.

 

During the long ballet, Kelli sat on a small stool at the landing of the staircase and whenever people came running up or down she pulled in the parts of her gown that were in the path.

 

For my post-opening show I thought that I did really well by getting them for a Sunday matinee in the first row dead center of the loge. Now I'm not so sure. There is little or no overlap of the loge with the orchestra, and although the loge seats all have good sight lines, they are quite far from the stage.

 

Bfreak, I guess I had my stage lefts and stage rights confused. I was not in the orchestra side, I was in orchestra center left, Row F, Seat 207. Here is the advice of someone very familiar with the theater:

The general advice is to avoid seat numbers above 508 on the right side and 108 on the left. The same source says to avoid loge seats above 506 on the right and 106 on the left.

Seat 503 is only two seats away from the aisle separating the orchestra center from the orchestra left, so you should be fine Also, the theater is one of the smallest, with a little over 1000 seats, so row 10 of the orchestra doesn't seem far away.

Updated On: 4/8/15 at 03:45 AM

[ljay889]

Posted: 4/8/15 at 11:53pm

How Ken Watanabe polished the King’s speech for ‘King and I’

[Phantom4ever]

Posted: 4/9/15 at 12:30am

I saw the matinee today and I swear there were mic issues a few times in Act I.  Kelli did sound great but she was constantly cut off by the cheering and hooting and hollering audience.  

I unfortunately sat behind a little boy who had his mom narrate the show for him from start to finish.  During one of the final dramatic scenes when there was a a silent dramatic pause, the little boy went "whaaaaaaat?" Which made the whole area around his erupt in laughter even though the King was about to whip Tuptim.  So that moment was ruined.  

I thought the set, costumes and choreography were gorgeous.   Only thing that was lacking was the Kings singing.  Especially compared to his son's voice.  

[ljay889]

Posted: 4/9/15 at 12:32am

.  During one of the final dramatic scenes when there was a a silent dramatic pause, the little boy went "whaaaaaaat?" Which made the whole area around his erupt in laughter even though the King was about to whip Tuptim.  So that moment was ruined.   

 Oh, no. That is dreadful. I'd be very annoyed. I am almost shocked that so many parents are bringing small children. Sure, it's classic R&H, but it's not nearly as fluffy as The Sound of Music. 

Updated On: 4/9/15 at 12:32 AM

[Bilbo3]

Posted: 4/9/15 at 8:02am

I studied for a few years in another country and I can't tell you how difficult it is to speak your second language. Even if you know it well, you never truly know the ins and outs of it all the time. I'm rooting for Ken. I can't imagine how great his performance would be if he was able to speak it in his first language. Accents and languages can definitely put up a barrier and withhold a performance from being all it could be. Not necessarily saying that's happening in King and I, although I do sort of wish Kelly would drop the British accent.

[musikman]

Posted: 4/9/15 at 9:54am

Would you prefer that she use a New York accent?  Or maybe a German one while we're at it.  Let's just forget the fact that the character is British.

[Bilbo3]

Posted: 4/9/15 at 10:08am

Her natural voice would be fine.

[broadway_show_fan]

Posted: 4/9/15 at 11:39am

Bilbo3, she naturally speaks with a bit of American southern accent, which would be completely inappropriate for Anna, who is a proper British woman. A large part of her character is her identity as a British westerner, so an American southern accent would be odd and wouldn't fit with Anna at all.

OlBlueEyes: I did notice plenty of things... I was in the second row and could see well. During the ballet, Anna was staged on the front stage right corner of the thrust (the stage is a thrust, not a proscenium - the decorated proscenium ends flush against the outside aisle of the 100s and 500s where the proscenium frame is). I sat in D 101, so if you had noticed, I was in the second row of the house left section on the inside aisle - she sat so close to me, and her skirt was so large and wide that it nearly reached across the aisle and touched me. 

I do agree with what I think you are saying - that the best place to see the show, in the most ideal seats, would be perhaps about E or F to about J or K in the center/300s. (But, this is no different from most other shows that use premium seating to block off center rows from a few rows back to about halfway back in the orchestra.)

Updated On: 4/9/15 at 11:39 AM

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 4/9/15 at 12:59pm

So my seats (row C, seats 105 and 106) shouldn't be too bad, right? 

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 4/9/15 at 1:14pm

n2nbaby, I was in the same seat. Go back a page to read my comment. I think you'll be fine.

As for kids in the theatre, I generally don't go to matinees or a lot of shows that appeal to young children (though that may change if I get a ticket to Aladdin or Finding Neverland) so I don't run into children that much. However, I don't think they should be barred as long as they're over the age requirement the theatre sets. It's really the responsibility of the parents to know whether their children are equipped to watch a Broadway performance (as opposed to some kind of children's theatre or panto or ice show with looser rules). I mean, the children on stage at The King and I have probably been in an audience or two and I'd imagine they were well behaved. They shouldn't be deprived of the experience just because other children are not.

 

[Andrew777]

Posted: 4/9/15 at 1:37pm

I only get to see Broadway shows once a year (I live in Indiana), and "The King and I" is one of 5 shows I'll be seeing next month. Can't wait!!

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 4/9/15 at 3:07pm

Sorry, Vintage! I somehow missed your post. Thank you for your input! :)