By Lawrence Toppman
The Charlotte Observer
Published: March 6, 1998

There may always be a corner of the globe that hates "The King and I."

It has been banned for almost half a century in Thailand. Thai leaders have never warmed to its depiction of King Mongkut, the 19th-century monarch who began to modernize his country (then called Siam by the West).

But the rest of the world has fallen under the spell of Mongkut and Anna Leonowens, who instructs his adorable children and teaches their stubborn father lessons of life and the heart.

A revival swept across Australia six years ago with Hayley Mills as Anna. Mills didn't take the show to Broadway, where Donna Murphy starred, but she'll headline the national tour.

The Broadway Lights series run by North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center has turned into a Rodgers and Hammerstein tribute this season. "State Fair" came last fall, and "Carousel" will be bustin' out all over in April.

But neither of them -- for that matter, no R & H musical and few musicals in history -- matches "The King and I" in visual splendor, vocal beauty and pathos.

This is an addict's opinion. At one time or another, I've owned a video of the film, a video of the non-musical it was based on ("Anna and the King of Siam"), the novel that movie came from and all six recordings of the score.

I blubbered through the sumptuous 1996 Broadway revival, starting with "Getting to Know You" -- which, since it's a cheerful song, made my fellow theatergoers gawp at me. (Most of them were moist-eyed by the end, anyhow.)

So my jaw dropped when a 31-year-old co-worker told me she had no idea of the plot. I realized mine is the last generation raised on R & H: My parents played their music around the house, and Mrs. Sharkey convinced her little chorus of froglets to croak "You'll Never Walk Alone" in my elementary school music class. (That's from "Carousel," if you're new.)

The plot of "The King and I" is simple: A British widow goes to Thailand to teach the king's many children. She gently modifies some of his ideas about women, child-rearing and slavery, and she inspires his son to even greater heights of national improvement. (Prince Chulalongkorn, Mongkut's successor, was known in Thailand for his progressive ideas.)

The emotions are complex. The king and Anna fall into a respectful, deep but platonic love; they never touch physically until they whirl into a spontaneous polka. What other love story allows physical contact only for a few moments through a three-hour show?

As in every R & H musical, someone suffers horribly. The secondary couple, Lun Tha and Tuptim, are slaves with little hope of freedom; they have some of the most gorgeous melodies ("I Have Dreamed" and "We Kiss in a Shadow") and some of the most gut-wrenching encounters.

Unlike any other Rodgers and Hammerstein collaboration, "The King and I" offers spectacle. Pagoda-capped costumes, elegant dresses, grandiose sets, the Procession of the White Elephant and the longest ballet in any of their shows, "The Small House of Uncle Thomas" (choreographed by Jerome Robbins) make this the only R & H musical comparable to the likes of "Les Miserables" and "The Phantom of the Opera."

Maybe that's why it's always been revivable for Broadway audiences, which demand more and more grandeur. Since its opening in 1951, it has come back to New York in half a dozen guises.

The last Broadway production might have been the most agreeable to Thais. Most supporting cast members were Asian. The King, played by Lou Diamond Phillips, had dignity without pomposity and a fierce temper mellowed by kindness. He didn't need to be "civilized" by Anna so much as reminded of his own inclination to do his best for his people.

Devotees of Yul Brynner, who won a 1952 Tony and a 1956 Oscar as the King, may be surprised to learn how good the show is without him. Anna has far more stage time and music -- Brynner wasn't much of a singer -- and her casting is more crucial. The show is his to steal but hers to carry.

I haven't seen Hayley Mills since she scampered around in Disney comedies of the '60s. I don't know whether she can handle profound emotions, hoop skirts or the vocal line of "Shall We Dance." But I'll be there opening night, handkerchief jammed to my eyes, to see.

Performance Type
Musical, Theater

Performer
Broadway Lights Series

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