|
|
|
THEATER
'The King and I' should be seen, not
heard
By Kevin Chaffee
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
 f
the revival of "The King and I" at the Kennedy Center's Opera House
sounded as good as it looks, it would be a dashing show.
But for
this touring production of the current Tony-winning Broadway hit
(produced, in part, by the Kennedy Center), the long, dishonorable
tradition of casting non-singers in "The King and I" is a problem.
. . . . It's less a problem for the
actor playing the petulant King of Siam, of course, than it is for the
actress playing Anna Leonowens, the English schoolteacher who introduced
the mid-19th century King to Western ideas.
. .
. . The King, whose lone big number is the talky "A Puzzlement,"
can get by with a strong sense of rhythm and exaggerated inflection --
musical speech that is well short of singing. The rest, as Yul Brynner
proved during the decades when the role was indisputably his, is
charisma, and Vee Talmadge -- who has several opportunities to
demonstrate that he is a marginal singer -- holds the stage admirably as
the hot-tempered, despotic but curious King.
. .
. . Hayley Mills acts equally well as Anna, radiating womanly
charm and political savvy. But her singing voice is fragile, at best,
which puts the wrong kind of tension into "Whistle a Happy Tune,"
"Getting to Know You," and especially "Hello, Young Lovers." You listen
and worry whether the star can sustain a note with any quality or muscle
her way through Richard Rodgers' wonderfully melodic phrases. Miss Mills
carries the tunes, but thinly.
. . . .
Still, some lovely musical things happen in this production. As
Lun Tha and Tuptim, the show's star-crossed lovers, Timothy Ford Murphy
and Luzviminda Lor sing the romantic ballads "We Kiss in a Shadow" and
"I Have Dreamed" with full, yearning voices. Likewise, Naomi Itami, as
one of the wiser members of the King's court, gives a rich rendering of
"Something Wonderful," a song that does a lot to soften an otherwise
childish characterization of the King, who spends a lot of time
badgering Anna because she fails to keep her head lower than his
highness's.
. . . . That is one of this
1951 musical's pitfalls: The cultural clash between East (the
domineering, unreasonable King) and West (the big-hearted, fair-minded
Anna) is terribly simplified. But it also has a generous spirit that
makes it tolerable, and it tries to be fair (if not really penetrating
or nuanced) in its take on the King.
. . . .
Yes, the King is so oppressive that Tuptim -- one of his
unwilling brides -- is inspired to create a stage interpretation of
"Uncle Tom's Cabin" (a highlight of this production, thanks to Jerome
Robbins' fascinating choreography). But he is not intractable, and Mr.
Talmadge is good at showing the genuine inquisitiveness that often lies
just beneath the King's bullheadedness.
. . . .
Still, the chief virtue of director Christopher Renshaw's
production is its look. What's striking about the design is the color --
the oranges and ambers, the deep reds and blues. The color pours over
the settings (lighting designer Nigel Levings uses a heavenly palette),
and Roger Kirk's costumes glow with warm tones. This "King and I" is
always an eyeful, if only occasionally an earful.
. . . . WHAT: "The King and I"
. . . . WHERE: Kennedy Center Opera
House
. . . . WHEN:
TuesdaysFridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 and 8 p.m., Sundays
at 1:30 and 7 p.m. through May 18
. . . .
RUNNING TIME: 2 hours 50 minutes
.
. . . TICKETS: $30-$68
. . . .
PHONE: 202/467-4600 (TDD: 202/416-
8524)
|
|
