by Lauren Mutter
ts not about Yul Brynner. But it is about you.
When The King and I comes to The Orpheum this Tuesday, it will be as relevant to you as it was to its creators more than 40 years ago.
Its a timeless piece of theatre, says Vee Talmadge, who is the traveling productions King of Siam opposite Hayley Mills Anna.
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Hayley Mills and Vee Talmadge in the touring company of The King and I. |
Set in the 1860s in the East, filmed in the 1950s in Hollywood, and performed in the 1990s around the world, the show knows no bounds. The Rodgers and Hammerstein classic follows a widowed English schoolteacher who travels to Siam to teach the Kings children, finding the King himself more of a handful than any school job.
Audiences most often see the show as its famously singable songs, Getting to Know You and Shall We Dance, or remember Yul Brynner in all of his bald splendor. But Talmadge, the latest in a long line of Kings that includes the Broadway revivals Lou Diamond Phillips, has taken great pains to create his own character distinct from Brynners.
That means hair. Lots of it.
The audience members come in and sit down, he says excitedly, describing his shoulder-length locks. And when they see me, for better or for worse, they understand that its not Yul Brynner. And then, any comparisons that are going to be made are going to be made anyway.
Comparisons, Talmadge knows, are inevitable, given the nature of the shows themes.
Its about multiculturalism, its about racism, its about genderism, he says.
These are very current values, Talmadge says, and I know from the reaction of audiences that people are responding on an immediate level.
The real story beyond the bald Brynner and the music lies in the relationship between the King and Anna. Its about two very diverse groups learning to understand each other and eventually understanding and wanting to know more, Talmadge says.
Consider the issue of subordination. The King has many wives and many children, all of whom are his servants. Anna is a competent woman not accustomed to keeping a tight lip. She sees herself as an outsider and the Kings equal. The King sees himself, well, as just that, the king. Their power struggle is perhaps more pressing now than it has ever been.
I would expect 1990s audiences to understand it differently than 1950s audiences, Talmadge explains. Probably in the 1950s when they saw the King copping a chauvinist attitude, they probably identified with that.... Now, a 1990s audience would say thats ridiculous and you have a strong woman there and its understandable that shes going to stand up to him. I think they understand the power struggle between the two central characters as more equal.
The cultural constraints that inhibit their love have not relented.
You have interesting dynamics in the King, Talmadge says, in that you have a person who doesnt want to corrupt his country by opening it up to outside influences and yet has no other choice in an effort to stave off military invasion. (It sounds like the current state of Hong Kong and China.)
Still, these outside influences are no longer just black and white, good and bad. This production of The King and I, in contrast to the film and past revivals, reflects the complexities, the intricacies, and the beauty of the East, Talmadge says. The feeling is not that you have a Western influence that is more intelligent co-opting the East and teaching its proper values. What you have, therefore, is two competing, strong cultures coming together and trying to learn from each other.
In that sense, not only is the production timeless but also instructive. You may see it for the songs, for the 12 young children, or for a revival of the joys it brought you when Mom and Dad plunked you in front of the television to watch it or when you performed in it yourself. But know that with the song and dance, youre also getting an education in life, one that will teach your children and their children, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. n
The King and I
Tuesday-Sunday, March 3rd-8th
The Orpheum
$10-$60
Ticketmaster, 525-1515