The King and I

Musical

Music: Richard Rodgers
Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II

Genre: Family
Duration: 120 min +
Cast Size: 4m / 3f, 2 boys, ensemble
Class: Full Length
Performing Groups: Elementary School, High School, College/University, Amateur/Community, Professional Theatre

Having no delusions of grandeur, “The King and I” does not attempt to solve the problem of the East and the West. It never strays very far from the immediate needs of the people in the play while they are getting to know each other, as the key melody phrases it. But “The King and I” is a seriously intended and deeply moving experiment in human understanding. It richly deserves the affection everyone has for it.

——Brooks Atkinson, The New York Times

Accolades

Drama Desk Awards: 4 Awards including Best Musical Revival

Tony Awards: 4 Awards for 1996 Broadway Revival of THE KING AND I including Best Revival (Musical)

Synopsis

East versus West makes for a dramatic, richly textured and ultimately uplifting tale of enormous fascination. It is 1862 in Siam when an English widow, Anna Leonowens, and her young son arrive at the Royal Palace in Bangkok, having been summoned by the King to serve as tutor to his many children and wives. The King is largely considered to be a barbarian by those in the West, and he seeks Anna’s assistance in changing his image, if not his ways. With both keeping a firm grip on their respective traditions and values, Anna and the King grow to understand and, eventually, respect one another, in a truly unique love story. Along with the dazzling score, the incomparable Jerome Robbins ballet, ‘The Small House of Uncle Thomas,’ is one of the all-time marvels of the musical stage.