Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1951 musical "The King and I," beginning its national tour in a handsome new production at Minneapolis' Historic Orpheum Theater, is a model of classical musical theater.
It's a pre-politically correct show, of course, and the "Orientalizing" in this story of a British schoolmistress hired in the late 1800s to teach the 70-some children of the king of Siam can make us uneasy today. Yet 46 years after its opening, it's surprising how sensitive and witty the show really is.
The cultural collision between the prim Anna Leonowens and the visionary King Mongkut of Siam (modern Thailand) is skillfully handled. If some of Siamese culture seems laughable -- all the bowing and scraping, and the hermetic narrowness -- the Western world with its starchy dresses, colonial arrogance and moral priggishness seems equally foolish.
What motors the show is that, no matter how sumptuous the sets (by Brian Thomson) or how accurate the costumes (Roger Kirk), no matter how carefully director Christopher Renshaw researched the true story upon which the musical was based, it remains a wonderful, wistful fantasy. It's less an accurate depiction of Siam, 19th-century culture or real people than it is a stage world rich with imaginative life, wrapped in some of the greatest music ever written for the theater.
Here cultures can happily collide, learn from each other and move toward the next generation assured that things will continue to get better (historically, Mongkut's heir, Chulalongkorn, turned out to be one of the great leaders in recent Asian history). In the optimistic world of Rodgers and Hammerstein, we learn from each other and even learn to love. No wonder we love these shows!
Popping with invention, this lovely show has not only such terrific tunes as "I Whistle a Happy Tune," "Hello Young Lovers," "Getting to Know You," "We Kiss in a Shadow" and "Something Wonderful" -- and that's just the first act -- but also one of the great oddball musical-theater ballets, Jerome Robbins' classic "The Small House of Uncle Thomas." A retelling of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" that melds Asian and American dance, it's the show's most unlikely number and always a high point.
Hayley Mills stars as Leonowens. As with the original, however, when star Gertrude Lawrence was overshadowed by Yul Brynner as the king, here the wavy-haired, stern yet oddly vulnerable Vee Talmadge as the king soars over everything else. His pride never overshadows his wisdom, his almost childlike naiveté never detracts from his innate sophistication.
Mills has charm but, in only the second performance of the tour on Wednesday, seemed tentative, often remote, unsure how to color and weight her words. Worse, she has little in the way of a singing voice, which is a huge detriment given the musical gems she has to sing. She's likeable enough and will undoubtedly get stronger, but for now she's no match for the king, which puts this cultural showdown out of whack.
Otherwise, things are dandy. Naomi Itami is a sensitive, caring, beautifully sung Lady Thiang. Luzviminda Lor is ardent as the tragic Tuptim. Timothy Ford Murphy is straightforward, if not quite vocally forceful, as her lover, Lun Tha. The children are adorable but never cloying, with Andrew Guyvijitr having an unusually strong presence, quite appropriate for the boy who would become king.
"The King and I" remains a model of the art, and we aren't likely to see many more this good soon.
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