Shall We Dance?

While it seems I haven’t been to the theatre a lot, truth is I’ve been saving up. Manchester has had a lot of shows on recently that I have already seen before, so I wasn’t too fussed to be honest. Whereas I knew there was theatre in London I wanted to see; and while I realise it is impossible for me to see everything in just a few days, it’s my holiday in London Town and so it was time to squeeze in some summer theatre.

There were 2 things I really wanted to see but had sold out for this time (I am defo seeing one of these later on so watch this space, have a think about what it could be), but I am so happy with the 4 I did choose in the end and let’s hop right into it: number one is the Lincoln Centers revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic The King and I at the London Palladium.

To be honest, I didn’t know much about the show at all, other than it was about a British women coming to Siam to tech the King’s children. Sounds simple doesn’t it, a bit like The Sound of Music? But what comes with that is a clash of ideas and culture, as the King struggles with Mrs Anna’s teachings, and Mrs Anna struggles to understand the King’s traditions and ways of ruling.

The King and I premiered on Broadway in 1951, starring Gertrude Lawrence and Yul Brynner (he became synonymous with the part, playing it over 4000 times), winning 5 Tony’s the following year, including Best Musical and those for Lawrence and Brynner for their performances. It has since been revived 4 times on Broadway, starring the likes of Angela Lansbury and Donna Murphy, and this current pairing of Ken Watanabe and Kelli O’Hara, who I will get to momentarily.

Funnily enough, this is the 3rd time Anna and the King have played at the Palladium: the 1st was in 1979 with Brynner: the 2nd was in 2000, with Elaine Paige and Jason Scot Lee as the titular duo.
However, this was my first time at the Palladium, and even just going up the stairs to the grand circle, you could tell that it is steeped with history, with pictures of many who performed there.

Like I said earlier, this production is a revival from Lincoln Center in New York, the same production as the last Broadway revival in 2015, directed by Bartlett Sher, and winning 4 Tony’s that year: 2 of those being Best Revival of a Musical and Best Actress in a Musical, finally a win for O’Hara after 5 previous nominations.

Enough now about the background, the question is that did the production live up to all I have heard about it, from both sides of the Atlantic? Yes it does.

Firstly, I have to mention that the production itself looks gorgeous, from the beginning at the Bangkok port, looking just like Miss Saigon to the Royal Palace itself, both in the setting and costumes - in fact, the costume designs won one of its Tonys. It also sounded incredibly lush, having a 29 piece orchestra in the pit.

And now I think I should get into the shows casts, possibly it’s strongest asset.

Let’s start with our leading lady, Kelli O’Hara as Mrs Anna, reprising her Tony winning performance. She says in the programme that as a soprano, Anna isn’t the most comfortable fit vocally, being in her lower register - if that is the case, it didn’t show at all. Kind, patient and incredibly strong, Anna was a woman ahead of her time, and O’Hara played her perfectly. I think the only thing I could say is that you weren’t watching someone PLAY Anna, you were WATCHING Anna!
As the King was Japensese Hollywood actor Ken Watanabe, and while he may be hard to sunderstand at times, he was incredibly charismatic, and rather funny and vulnerable all at the same time; certainly not what I was expecting. His best moments came in songs like A Puzzlement, and other moments when he was so confused by Mrs Anna’s customs and teachings etc etc etc

Next comes the supporting cast, I'll start with Naoko Mori, who made for a sympathetic chief wife Lady Thiang, a role she is currently sharing with Tony winning Ruthie-Ann Miles (also transferring from the Broadway version).
As for the lovers, Dean  John-Wilson was hot to trot as Lun Tha (even though he didn’t have much to do), and Na-Young Jeon was excellent as Tuptim, the King’s newest wife, her innocent soprano a far FAR cry away from Miss Saigon’s Gigi.
Finally, as far as the cast are concerned, I have to mention all the children - who were all so adorable, especially in their entrances in March of the Royal Siamese children.

Believe the hype over this - what could be well the best musical revival of the year, The King and I is truly a classic. Be sure to catch it before the run ends, and pester it for a UK tour (fingers crossed). The Wall Street Journal said "I doubt I will ever see a better production in my lifetime." This could well be true - it is not to be missed!