The king and i musical racr3/30/2023 ![]() ![]() ![]() The King and I has been revived on Broadway four times, including at the Uris Theatre (now Gershwin Theatre) in 1977, the Martin Beck (now Al Hirschfeld Theatre) in 1985, the Neil Simon Theatre in 1996 (a re-staging of the influential 1991 Australian production directed by Christopher Renshaw), and the Vivian Beaumont at Lincoln Center in 2015. Warner Bros released a critically panned animated children’s version of the musical in 1999. The film was nominated for 9 Oscars, winning 5, including Best Actor in a Leading Role (Yul Brenner), Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Sound, and Best Music. The musical was adapted for film by Twentieth Century-Fox in 1956 starring Deborah Kerr (whose singing voice was provided by Marni Nixon), and Yul Brenner. The King and I opened on the West End at the Drury Lane on October 9, 1953. Constance Carpenter, Annamary Dickey, Celeste Holm, and Patricia Morison all subsequently played the role of Anna during the musical’s original run.Īfter 1246 performances, The King and I closed on March 20, 1954. Gertrude Lawrence was ill throughout the first year of the Broadway run, and died from cancer on September 6, 1952. It won all 5, including Best Musical, Best Actress in a Musical (Gertrude Lawrence), Best Featured Actor (Yul Brenner), Best Scenic Design (Jo Mielziner), and Best Costume Design (Irene Sharaff). Critics were unimpressed by the score, and felt that the musical was not as strong as Oklahoma! or South Pacific.ĭespite the critics (who, in reviewing revivals, later adjusted their assessments of the show’s success as a musical), The King and I was nominated for 5 Tony Awards. With a budget of $360,000, The King and I was the most expensive Rodgers and Hammerstein musical to date and, according to the Rodgers and Hammerstein Foundation, “one of the most lavish in Broadway history.” Gertrude Lawrence played Anna, and Yul Brenner played The King (a role he would perform over 4,500 times). She approached Oscar Hammerstein II and Richard Rodgers who took on the project, reportedly following encouragement from their spouses.įollowing previews in New Haven, Connecticut, The King and I opened on Broadway at the St. Gertrude Lawrence, seeking a new project to showcase her talents, bought the stage rights to Landon’s novel. The novel was made into a popular film in 1946 starring Irene Dunn and Rex Harrison. Writer Margaret Landon adapted Leonowens’ memoirs into a novel in 1944. Leonowens published two memoirs The English Governess at the Siamese Court (1870), and Siamese Harem Life (1873). The King and I is based on the true story of Anna Leonowens, a Western woman who was invited by the King of Siam to Bangkok to tutor the King’s children.
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