It has been days since I saw the Lincoln Center Theater's Tony-winning revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein's The King and I and I haven't been this moved by such a soaring and lush production as this. To paraphrase one of the show's songs, it's "something wonderful". But it's more than that. It's something thrilling, something funny, something heartbreaking and something brilliant. It simply takes your breath away from the first minute the curtain goes up.
Taking place in Bangkok, Siam (now known as Thailand) in 1862, widowed English schoolteacher Anna Leonowens (Kelli O'Hara, who won a Tony for the role last year) arrives with her son to teach the children of the wives of the King (Hoon Lee). He becomes too strict with Anna at first, due to his hard royal ways and her demand of living in a separate house instead of in the palace. But when the British arrive to assess the kingdom, they try to put their heads together for a party to make proof to their guests that the King isn't as barbaric as the world thinks. Soon, his attitude towards Anna becomes less aggressive and more kinder in the process. Meanwhile, in a subplot, one of the king's wives, a slave named Tupim (Ashley Park) has a forbidden love affair with scholar Lun Tha (Conrad Ricamora). But I'm not going to tell you how this romance will end. You'll just have to watch.
Working on his second R&H production for Lincoln Center since his triumph with South Pacific eight years ago, Bartlett Sher continues to leave his mark as one of musical theatre's best and finest directors. Sher even has a top-notch design team to work with. The boat that guides Anna to Bangkok at the show's starting point is a marvelous piece of stagecraft that I've even seen since seeing the Pride Lands rise at the beginning of The Lion King. Great thanks must go to Michael Yeargan for that design and the captivating sets he has created. Catherine Zuber's Tony-winning costumes are designed preciously and Donald Holder's lighting brings fine colors and gives a bit more lavishing touch to the production.
The still glorious score by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II is filled with such unforgettable and timeless tunes such as "Shall We Dance", "Getting To Know You", the aforementioned "Something Wonderful" and "I Have Dreamed". Even those who haven't had exposure of this show yet will have the songs locked inside their memory for weeks after seeing this. Plus, Hammerstein's book is fine without much difficulties. Also, Jerome Robbins's choreography from the original 1951 production is dazzlingly recreated here by Chris Gattelli (Newsies).
As Anna, the amazing Kelli O'Hara is simply a force to be reckoned with. Her Tony-winning performance is like seeing how a musical theatre actress is working at the top of her game. She is charming, poignant and altogether astonishing. Even in this age of Taylor Swift, Amy Schumer and Hillary Clinton, O'Hara makes Anna a great role model for the women of yesterday and today in the role of demanding freedom, seriousness and more respect from the males.
She also has one of the most dynamic singing voices on Broadway since the heyday of Mary Martin and Julie Andrews. This is her fourth production with director Sher. Together, their actor-director partnership is still going strong without any failures yet.
As the King, Lee is sensational and he and O'Hara deliver enough energy together on the stage to light up the top of the Empire State Building. Their polka-dancing scene in the second act is a fascinating highlight. If Yul Brynner were alive and in the audience, he would been very pleased. As the young lovers, Park and Ricamora are excellent. At the performance I saw, understudy MaryAnn Hu was genuine as king's head wife, Lady Thiang.
To put it in a nutshell, this is one of the best revivals I've ever seen. I'm already hoping to see this one again. This one I truly recommend highly. If you and a family member or friend have already read all of this, please try to make plans to get tickets ASAP. Go see it whether going by car, by bus, by subway, by railroad, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. It's a "can't miss" in every sense of the word.
Rating:****
Parent Advisory: Suitable for ages 7 and up. Contains one small violent scene. Otherwise from that, it's still a great show for the family.
The King & I is playing at the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center on 150 W. 65th Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam Ave.). For tickets, go to www.lct.org or call 212-239-6200.
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