- For the 1956 film version starring Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr see The King and I
(1956 film)
The King and I is a musical by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, with a script
based on the book Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon.The plot comes from the story written by Anna
Leonowens, who became school teacher to the children of King Mongkut of
Siam in the early 1860s. Leonowens' story was autobiographical
except that its objective accuracy is questionable. In Thailand, the possession of anything related to Anna and the King of
Siam or The King and I is illegal, because of the historical inaccuracies about the King of Siam. It then became a
movie and starred Deborah Kerr and Yul Brunner. [1]
[2].
The musical opened on Broadway in 1951 and was the fourth hit out of five
collaborations for the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It ran for 1,246
performances, winning the Tony Award for Best Musical, among other awards.
It spawned numerous revivals and a popular 1956 film version.
Plot
Mrs. Anna Leonowens, a widow from Wales, arrives in Bangkok
with her young son to teach English to the children of the royal household. The King eventually honors his promise of a suitable
house. He also very much wishes to absorb western knowledge, but is sometimes conflicted over how to reconcile western ways with
his own. His efforts to do this, unadmitted even by himself, are further hindered by his minister, who wishes to keep Western
influence out of the court.
Meanwhile, a new (literate) slave for the king named Tuptim -- a gift from the king of Burma --
befriends "Mrs. Anna" and borrows her copy of Uncle Tom's Cabin. She transforms
it into the Siamese ballet Small House of Uncle Thomas, which is presented amidst the
welcoming of emissaries from Great Britain, making it clear she is unhappy being a slave to the King. After the performance, when
she tries to escape with her lover Lun Tha, she is apprehended. Anna urges the King not to beat the girl; he states he will do so
anyway but finds himself unable to (presumably due to Anna's influence on him) and he hides himself away and declines in health.
In the play, it is strongly implied that both Tuptim and Lun Tha are put to death, but in the 1956 film version of The King
and I, it is suggested that only Lun Tha is killed.
Anna, thinking that she can no longer be of any use, is just about to leave Siam when she is told that the King is dying. She
decides to stay in order to help his young son, Crown Prince Chulalongkorn -- her favorite
pupil -- to rule his people.
Music
- Act I
- Overture -- Orchestra
- I Whistle a Happy Tune -- Anna and Louis
- My Lord and Master -- Tuptim †
- Hello, Young Lovers -- Anna
- The March of the Siamese Children -- Orchestra
- Scene Before Curtain (Home Sweet Home) -- Priests and Children
- A Puzzlement -- King
- The Royal Bangkok Academy -- Anna, Wives, and Children *
- Getting to Know You -- Anna, Wives, and Children
- We Kiss in a Shadow -- Tuptim and Lun Tha
- A Puzzlement (Reprise) -- Louis and Prince Chululongkorn *
- Shall I Tell You What I Think of You? -- Anna †
- Something Wonderful -- Lady Thiang
- Something Wonderful (Reprise) -- Lady Thiang *
- Finale, Act I -- King, entire palace
|
- Act II
- Entr'acte -- Orchestra *
- Western People Funny -- Lady Thiang and Wives ‡
- I Have Dreamed -- Tuptim and Lun Tha †
- Hello, Young Lovers (Reprise) -- Anna *
- The Small House of Uncle Thomas (Ballet) -- Tuptim and Wives
- Song of the King -- King
- Shall We Dance? -- Anna and King
- I Whistle a Happy Tune (Reprise) -- Anna *
|
* Omitted from 1956 film
† Omitted from 1956 film, but included on film soundtrack
‡ Heard in the film as underscoring
Notes on the music
The best-known songs from the musical are probably "Whistle a Happy Tune," "Getting to Know You," "Hello, Young Lovers," and
"Shall We Dance?" Three songs omitted in the film-version, "My Lord and Master" , "I Have Dreamed", and "Shall I Tell You What I
Think of You?," were nonetheless included in the film's soundtrack recording. The song, "I Have Dreamed" was used as an
instrumental in the background score. The song "Western People Funny," sung by Lady Thiang in the stage version, appears in the
film only as orchestral background music. The first part of the "Song of the King" was also omitted in the film but included in
the soundtrack recording. Only the second part of the song was retained in the film. Even the Overture was modified, due to the
omission of "I Have Dreamed", which the film editor considered one too many love songs for Tuptim and Lun Tha. The most colorful
number in the musical, both musically and visually (to Western audiences), is the ballet
"Small House of Uncle Thomas," choreographed by Jerome Robbins.
Rodgers and Hammerstein knew they were writing for stars, Gertrude Lawrence and Yul Brynner, who were primarily actors rather
than singers. Therefore, they reserved the sweeping, more challenging melodies for the characters of Tuptim and Lun Tha and kept
the songs sung by the other leads simple.
Mary Martin had starred in South
Pacific by Rodgers and Hammerstein a few years previously and was an investor in The King and I. When Gertrude
Lawrence wanted to have a song with the children, Martin suggested that Rodgers and Hammerstein write new lyrics for "Suddenly
Lovely," which had been cut from South Pacific. The song then became "Getting to Know You." [3]
Productions
Original Broadway 1951
The musical opened on Broadway at the St. James
Theatre on March 29 1951 and starred Gertrude Lawrence as Anna, and a then mostly unknown Yul Brynner
as the King. The production was directed by John Van Druten, choreographed by
Jerome Robbins, with scenic and lighting design by Jo
Mielziner, and costumes designed by Irene Sharaff.
It ran for 1,246 performances and won Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Actress, Best Featured Actor (for Brynner, who was billed below
the title and therefore considered featured instead of lead), Best Scenic
Design and Best Costume Design. Lawrence died the year after The King and I opened on Broadway. She was 54 years
old.
1977 revival
Brynner reprised the role twice on Broadway in 1977 and 1985 and
played it over 4,000 times in the course of his life. He often stated he was far too young for the part when he originated it and
felt more comfortable as the King in later years.
The 1977 production opened at the Uris Theatre, (now the George Gershwin
Theatre) on May 2, 1977 with, in addition to Brynner, Constance Towers as Anna
Leonowens, June Angela as Tuptim and Martin Vidnovic as Lun Tha. It was directed by Yuriko.
Angela Lansbury took over the role of Anna later in the run. The revival ran for 695
performances.
1985 revival
The 1985 revival opened at The Broadway Theatre on January 7 1985 with Brynner, and Mary Beth
Peil as Anna. The production was directed by Mitch Leigh. This revival was nominated
for two Tony awards. Yul Brynner received a Tony Special Award "honoring his 4,525 performances in The King and I. It ran
for 191 performances.
1996 revival
Another Broadway revival opened on April 11 1996 at the
Neil Simon Theatre, starring Lou Diamond
Phillips as King Mongkut in his Broadway debut and Donna Murphy as Anna Leonowens.
The secondary parts were cast as follows: Lun Tha was played by Jose Llana, Tuptim by Joohee
Choi, and Lady Thiang by Taewon Kim. The production ran for 780 performances and closed February
22 1998. The production was nominated for eight Tony
Awards and won four, including the awards for Best Musical (Revival) and Best Actress in a Musical.
London
The musical opened at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on October 8 1953, and starred Valerie
Hobson as Anna and Herbert Lom as the King. Muriel
Smith portrayed Lady Thiang. The show ran for 926 performances.[1]
Poster for the 2000 London revival
In 1979, a new production opened at the London Palladium with Yul Brynner recreating
his most famous role, co-starring with Virginia McKenna and John Bennett.
A production based on the 1996 Broadway revival opened May 3, 2000, at the London
Palladium. It starred Elaine Paige as Anna and Jason Scott Lee and Paul Nakauchi as the King.
In 2005 the musical was rated fourth in a BBC Radio 2
listener poll of the "Nation's Number One Essential Musicals" (wherein Nation refers to the
United Kingdom).
2007 Asia tour
The musical made its Asia premiere in Shenzhen, China, on April 25, 2007. The tour continued to Hangzhou, China, as well as to
Seoul, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. The production starred Paul Nakauchi as King.
Film and television versions
1956 film version
-
The musical was filmed in 1956 with Brynner re-creating his role opposite
Deborah Kerr. The film won 5 Academy Awards and was
nominated for four more. Brynner won an Oscar as Best Actor for his
portrayal, and Kerr was nominated as Best Actress. The film also won for
best music. The singing voice for Anna in the film was provided by Marni Nixon.
1999 Animated version
-
RichCrest Animation Studios released a new, animated adaptation of the
musical in 1999. However, except for using some of the songs, the story was unrelated to the Rodgers and Hammerstein version.
Other film and television versions
A short-lived television series entitled Anna and the King was created in
1972, giving credit to Margaret Landon for
the creation. Yul Brynner reprised his role in the series as the King while Samantha
Eggar played Anna Leonowens.
There are two non-musical films based upon the Anna Leonowens story. In 1946,
Rex Harrison and Irene Dunne starred in the film
Anna and the King of Siam. In 1999, 20th Century Fox released another film entitled
Anna and the King. This version starred Jodie
Foster and Chow Yun-Fat.
Reaction in Thailand
- Most Thai were shocked by the portrayal of their revered nineteenth-century king, Mongkut, in the musical The King and I. The stage and screen versions were based on Margaret Landon's 1944
book entitled Anna and the King of Siam. To correct the record, well-known
Thai intellectuals Seni and Kukrit Pramoj wrote this
account in 1948. The Pramoj brothers sent their manuscript to the American politician and diplomat Abbot Low Moffat
1901-1996), who drew on it for his biography entitled Mongkut the King of Siam (1961). Moffat donated the Pramoj manuscript
to the Library in 1961. (Southeast Asian Collection, Asian Division, Library of Congress)
References
- ^ Thai Students' Guide: The King & I, Fact Or Fiction?
- ^ Thailand travel guide from Wikitravel
- ^ Playbill Happy Talk 18 Dec 1995
External links
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