LUSH COSTUMES, SCORE CROWN KING'

From its first curtain on March 29, 1951, ``The King and I'' has always been about opulence:

The colorful palace of the king of Siam, the lush score of Richard Rodgers, the image-rich lyrics of Oscar Hammerstein, the grand choreography of Jerome Robbins, and dozens of brocaded, hoop-skirted gowns.

A near-capacity crowd of more than 2,500 basked in the glory of ``The King and I'' on Tuesday night as the touring production of a 1996 Broadway revival opened at Charlotte's Ovens Auditorium.

During its weeklong run here, 20,000 theatergoers are expected to see the famous musical story of Anna, a widowed teacher from England in the 1860s, who goes head-to-head with the stubborn king of Siam.

The tour, like the Broadway revival, is a sumptuous, loving retelling by director Christopher Renshaw of the crowning achievement by Rodgers and Hammerstein.

The gilt sets by Brian Thomson - slightly smaller in scale and built to travel, but in the same ornate spirit as the Broadway show - would qualify as decadent. But they are upstaged by Roger Kirk's fabulous costumes, especially all of Anna's bell-shaped gowns.

``The King and I'' also has always been about stars.

Rodgers and Hammerstein created it from a true story at the request of Gertrude Lawrence. Although it was to be Lawrence's last role, it was her co-star who became legendary. A former circus acrobat named Yul Brenner turned the role of the king into a career.

In the Broadway revival, Donna Murphy won her second Tony for her portrayal of Anna, and Lou Diamond Phillips turned in a respectable King.

The tour stars Hayley Mills, who launched Renshaw's revival six years ago in Australia. Mills is best known in this country for her child-star movie roles.

Now all grown up, Mills cannot sing any better than she did in her little-girl nightclub act in ``The Parent Trap.'' Her voice is thin, sinewy and parched. She excels only in the half-spoken ``Shall I Tell You What I Think of You.''

As an actress, she is far more inviting, defiant yet helpful and sentimental. Despite being a tad on the chilly, brittle side at first, she warms to us, and we to her.

Among the rest of the fine cast, Vee Talmadge makes a surprisingly good King, Luzviminda Lor sings a tunefully lovely Tuptim, the doomed lover, and Helen Yu is indeed something wonderful as Lady Thiang, the king's No. 1 wife.

``The King and I'' also has always been about dance, and this production meticulously re-creates the original choreography of Robbins.

The heart of the play is the second-act ballet, ``The Small House of Uncle Thomas,'' Tuptim's version of ``Uncle Tom's Cabin.'' Comically fractured, it nonetheless makes its point about slavery, in America and the Far East.

And, finally, ``The King and I'' has always been about the cute little kids Anna gets to know. On that score, this touring production never fails to touch the heart.

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THE KING AND YOU

``The King and I'': 8 p.m. today-Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday; Ovens Auditorium, 2700 Independence Blvd. Tickets: Scarce. Face value prices: $18-$50. Details: 522-6500, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday.

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