A Victorian governess, a young widow, arrives in Siam in 1862 to teach the king’s children only to find that it is the king who needs the education.
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein’s much-loved musical premiered in New York in 1951. It has been revived many times since. Bartlett Sher’s Tony-award-winning production was last seen in 2018 at the London Palladium.
The present revival, which has been touring the UK and stars Helen George and Darren Hill, has a second best feel about it, but with such popular songs as I Whistle a Happy Tune, Getting to Know You, Hello, Young Lovers and Shall We Dance? it is still going to give a lot of pleasure to a lot of people.
The story is based on the film, Anna and the King of Siam, which starred Irene Dunne and Rex Harrison, and which was based on the novel by Margaret Landon, which was based on the memoirs of Mrs. Anna Leonowens, English governess to the 82 (sic) children of King Mongkut who had 32 wives.
The King and I is a great romantic story with an original touch. There is no romance between the two leading characters, though when the King takes the governess by the hand and grasps her waist to dance an exhilarating polka, there should, surely, be some sexual frisson; but there isn’t. It is the enormous and beautiful crinoline ball gown she wears that makes the dance so memorable.
The musical was written as a vehicle for Gertrude Lawrence but quickly became a vehicle for Yul Brynner, who went on playing the role for so long (34 years, 4,625 performances) that it seemed as if the King was playing Brynner.
One of the high spots is Cezarah Bonner as the King’s chief wife singing Something Wonderful. Another high spot is the 16-minute ballet version of The House of Uncle Tom Cabin. Christopher Galletti’s choreography is based on Jerome Robbins’s original choreography, which was based on Siamese dance vocabulary and costume. The third high spot is the show’s final scene, with the death of the King and the beginning of a new and less servile era. It has a big emotional impact musically.
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