the king and i - 1951

MUSIC: Richard Rodgers
LYRICS: Oscar Hammerstein II
BOOK: Oscar Hammerstein II

THE KING AND I is one of Rodgers and Hammerstein's best-loved musicals. It was a landmark musical of its time, pushing boundaries with themes of slavery and racial misunderstanding. It made a huge star out of its male lead, Yul Brynner, who played the role of the King in several revivals both in London and New York. The most recent London revival of the show deliberately cast a very well known actress (Elaine Paige) as Anna to put the focus back on the 'I' of The King And I.

The show has became a favourite with community theatre. Perhaps this is partly due to its well-known hummable songs, including I Whistle A Happy Tune, Shall We Dance, Getting To Know You and We Kiss In A Shadow. It has been filmed twice, most famously in 1956 and starring Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr, with Marni Nixon dubbing her singing voice. The second movie was an animated feature that turned the role of the Kralahome into a villain determined to stop Anna's influence over the King. This version re-instated the song Shall I Tell You What I Think Of You that was ultimately cut from the previous film, and also included the song I Have Dreamed in place of We Kiss In A Shadow.

The story is based around the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, an English schoolteacher who came to teach the royal children of Siam, now Thailand, and was a positive influence on the young Prince.