The King and I
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 questionable autobiographical story of
Anna Leonowens, who became school teacher to the children of King
Mongkut of
Siam in the early
1860s.
Broadway
The musical opened on
Broadway on March 29,
1951 and starred
Gertrude Lawrence as Anna, and a then mostly unknown
Yul Brynner as the King. Brynner reprised the role twice on Broadway in
1977 and
1985 and eventually played it over 4,000 times over the course of his life. He often stated he was far too young for the role when he originated it and felt more comfortable in the part in later years.
Another Broadway revival opened on
April 11,
1996 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.
1956 Film version
Main Article: The King and I (1956 film)The musical was filmed in
1956 with Brynner re-creating his role opposite
Deborah Kerr. Brynner won an
Oscar as
Best Actor for his portrayal, and Kerr was nominated as
Best Actress. The singing voice for Anna in the film was provided by
Marni Nixon.
1999 Animated version
RichCrest Animation Studios (then known as Rich Animation Studios) made a new, animated adaptation of the musical. Many who have seen this version consider it a disgrace to both the original film and the Broadway version.
Mrs. Anna Leonowens, a widow from Wales, arrives in Bangkok with her young son to teach English to the children of the royal household. She threatens to leave when the house she was promised in the contract is not available, but is dissuaded from doing so when the King presents to her his children. 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.
Meanwhile, a new (literate) slave for the king named Tuptim 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 prevents the King from beating her, causing him to run away in shame and hide away for weeks. 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 to rule his people.
(Incidentally, the portrayal in the musical suggests that Anna and the King are attracted to each other )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
Notes on the Music
The most well-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 were nonetheless included in the commercial soundtrack recording. (Interestingly, the song "Western People Funny," sung by Lady Thiang in the stage version, appears in the film only as orchestral background music.) 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.
Rogers and Hammerstein knew they were writing for their stars,
Gertrude Lawrence and
Yul Brynner, who were not true singers. Therefore, they reserved the sweeping, deep melodies for the characters of Tuptim and Lun Tha and kept the songs sung by the other leads very simple.
*In
Family Guy episode "
The King Is Dead"
Lois Griffin is named director of the Quahog Players theatre group production, and she decides to produce The King and I. However it turns out completely different from the original musical when
Peter Griffin takes over the production.
*In
2005 the musical version came fourth in a
BBC Radio 2 listener
poll of the "Nation's Number One Essential Musicals" (wherein Nation refers to the United Kingdom). [
1]
*Costumes for the film were made of original Thai silk supplied by Jim Thompson Company in Bangkok.
*Mary Martin had worked on
South Pacific with Rodgers and Hammerstein a few years previously and was an investor in
The King and I. When Gertrude Lawrence wanted having a song with the children, Martin suggested that Rodgers and Hammerstein write new lyrics for "Suddenly Lucky," which had been cut from
South Pacific. The song then became "Getting to Know You."
*The musical is mentioned in
Billy Joel's history themed song "
We Didn't Start the Fire".
There are two non-musical films based upon this 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. Also in 1999, an animated version of
The King and I was released by
Warner Bros.; it was also a musical, but except for using some of the songs, it was unrelated to the Rodgers and Hammerstein version. (Needless to say, there are considerable variations among the film versions of the story.)
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.
