But my real estate agent, who had the seat in front of mine at the Merriam Theater Tuesday night, said she'd visited Thailand, and it all looked quite authentic.

My theater companion, on the other hand, said he couldn't quite handle the idea of a king with hair.

This King and I, which runs through Sunday and stars Hayley Mills as the English schoolteacher Anna Leonowens, elicits admiration for its Tony Award-winning sets and costumes, but not much emotional involvement.

Strong performances in featured roles -- especially the operatic-voiced Helen Yu as Lady Thiang and novice Timothy Ford Murphy as Lun Tha -- didn't quite atone for the lack of chemistry between Mills and Mel Duane Gionson's comically adept but insufficiently fierce King of Siam. Gionson was subbing for Vee Talmadge.

Rodgers and Hammerstein's classic 1951 musical about Anna and the king -- based on a true story and Margaret Landon's 1944 novel -- plays with a series of contrasts: between barbarism and civilization, slavery and freedom, modernity and tradition. Anna embodies the civilizing influence of Western (in this case, British) culture on a king who is caught between past and present.

There's no ambiguity in the show's take on history, which associates modernity with progress. But, in addition to lovely songs, there are some exceedingly well-written scenes between Anna and the king, which depict a developing attraction and mutual need. These culminate in the polka duet "Shall We Dance?" where emotion finds pure expression in movement. But even this climactic courtship scene -- though well-directed by Christopher Renshaw -- doesn't quite seal the bond between this odd couple.

Mills is a softer Anna than Deborah Kerr's film version, likable but without much acerbity or brio. It doesn't help that her singing is marginal at best; songs as straightforward as "Getting to Know You" and "I Whistle a Happy Tune" demand a more confident delivery.

Gionson's king may not erase the memory of Yul Brynner, but he, too, is likable and gets his laughs. What his performance lacks is some larger, more tragic dimension -- as well as a chemistry with his costar.

Without emotional conviction at its core, the show is dominated by its tendencies toward melodrama -- and, of course, spectacle.

But there are still marvelous moments to savor. Yu has extraordinary presence as Lady Thiang, the head wife in the king's harem, and her rendition of "Something Wonderful" is indeed that. Luzviminda Lor as Tuptim and Murphy as Lun Tha -- the doomed young lovers -- get the show's most gorgeous melodies, and their duets are transportingly romantic. And then there are the children. In their processional before the king and throughout the nearly three-hour show, they are alternately cute, endearing and very funny.