GETTING TO KNOW THEM ... Hayley Mills as Anna sings to the royal children of Siam in Rodgers and Hammerstein's classic, The King And I, which opened at the Hummingbird Centre last night.
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Friday, July 25, 1997
Beautiful to look at, but not much more
King's court could use a music teacher
Toronto Sun
It is difficult to imagine a more sumptuous production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King And I than the one that opened last night on the stage of the Hummingbird Centre, courtesy of Livent, Inc. and Dodger Endemol Theatricals.
Scenic designer Brian Thomson, costume designer Roger Kirk and lighting designer Nigel Levings have conspired to create a stage-bound butterfly. It emerges slowly from the cocoon of Margaret Landon's story (on which the musical is based) and sparkles with all the rich, vibrant and silken hues of old Siam. It may not have Thailand's orchids, but it captures everything else in its jewel-like palette as it spins the story of an English widow's experience as a tutor to the ruling house of Siam.
One-time child star Hayley Mills is cast as Anna Leonowens, who arrives in Bangkok in the mid-1800s to undertake the difficult task of setting up an English school for the numerous offspring and the even more numerous wives of King Mongkut of Siam, played by Vee Talmadge.
She quickly discovers, of course, that the major challenge facing her is more in the education of the monarch than of his family, as she attempts to impose a very English way of life and code of morals on this exotic court.
But for all its dated colonialism, this is a good-hearted story, enriched by some of Rodgers and Hammerstein's most enduring tunes.
The playlist includes I Whistle A Happy Tune, Hello, Young Lovers, Getting To Know You and, of course, Shall We Dance?, served up here in enough ivory satin to swaddle a Third-World nation.
Happily, these are all familiar tunes, because when Mills told a news conference Tuesday that as a singer, she makes a fine actor, she was motivated by more than simple modesty, it seems.
And she is a pleasant actor, as is Talmadge, although under the direction of Christopher Renshaw, his low-key, almost comedic performance lacks a certain compelling forcefulness that would make him fully regal and the attraction between the two truly magnetic.
So, it is left to a bevy of young children to carry things along on a not-always-constant wave of enduring charm, relieved occasionally by some truly memorable musical moments. Helen Yu's soaring, haunting climb through Something Wonderful is thrilling, while Timothy Ford Murphy and Luzviminda Lor's team up to turn We Kiss In The Shadow and I Have Dreamed into steaming cauldrons of youthful yearning.
Despite their fine work, however, this production disappoints. All the King's children and all the King's men ...
As a musical, this is a fine play.
SUN RATING 3 OUT OF 5
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