AN R&H THEATRICALS TITLE
Rodgers & Hammerstein's The King and I
Full-Length Musical, Drama / 3w, 4m, 2boy(s)
Music by Richard Rodgers
Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Based on Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon
Original Choreography by Jerome Robbins
Image: 2015 Lincoln Center Theater Production (Paul Kolnik)
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Cast Size
3w, 4m, 2boy(s) -
Duration
More than 120 minutes (2 hours) -
Subgenre
Adaptations (Literature), Period, Docudrama/Historic -
Target Audience
Appropriate for all audiences
Accolades
- Winner! 1952 Tony Award, Best Musical
Nominee: 1977 Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Musical
Winner! 1985 Tony Award, Special Award
Winner! 1996 Tony Award, Best Revival of a Musical
Winner! 1996 Drama Desk Award, Best Musical Revival
Winner! 2015 Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Revival of a Musical or Revue
Winner! 2015 Tony Award, Best Revival of a Musical
Details
Summary
History
The King and I opened on Broadway on March 29, 1951, starring Gertrude Lawrence and Yul Brynner. The show proceeded to run for three years, racking up 1,246 performances. It received five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and honors for both of its stars. Valerie Hobson and Herbert Lom starred in the original London production, and the musical scored great successes in Australia, Japan, and throughout Europe—from Le Roi Et Moi in Brussels to Der Konig Und Ich in Berlin.
In 1956, Twentieth Century Fox released the motion picture version of The King and I with Deborah Kerr as Anna (with her musical voice provided by Marni Nixon) and Yul Brynner recreating his role as The King. An immediate success, The King and I became the second-highest grossing film of the year and was also critically acclaimed; nominated for nine Academy Awards, it received five, including the Best Actor Award to Brynner.
Over the course of 34 years, Yul Brynner played The King more than 4,600 times; first on stage, then on the big screen and then on television (co-starring with Samantha Eggar in the short-lived series, Anna and the King in the early '70s). He brought The King and I back to Broadway for two separate, triumphant engagements; the latter, the culmination of his farewell tour as The King, was presented in 1985, the final year of his life. At the conclusion of that run Mr. Brynner received a special Tony Award for his achievements.
A Broadway revival opened at the Neil Simon Theatre on April 11, 1996, starring Tony Award winner Donna Murphy as Anna and film star Lou Diamond Phillips as The King. Hailed by the critics and public alike, The King and I swept the triple crown of Broadway honors that spring, winning the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics' Circle Awards for Best Musical Revival.
In 2015, Lincoln Center Theater presented a Broadway revival starring Kelli O'Hara, Ken Watanabe and Ruthie Ann Miles. Directed by Bartlett Sher, the show was a critical smash, earning nine Tony nominations and winning four, including Best Revival of a Musical.
Cast Attributes
Keywords
Act I
In 1862, Welsh-born widow Anna Leonowens and her young son Louis arrive by ship in Bangkok, Siam (now known as Thailand), where she has been engaged by King Mongkut to be schoolmistress to the royal children. The crowded port and the approach of the imposing Kralahome (Prime Minister) frighten Louis (“I Whistle A Happy Tune”).
In his throne room, with his many wives in attendance, the King of Siam, welcomes Lun Tha, a Burmese scholar sent to study the design of Buddhist temples. Lun Tha presents the King with a gift: the beautiful, independent-minded young Tuptim, who speaks and reads English. She has been sent to join the King’s wives, all of whom live in the Royal Palace. Though she is promised to the King, Tuptim is in love with Lun Tha (“My Lord and Master”).
After being detained in the Palace by the Kralahome, Anna finally meets the King. She reminds him of his promise to give her a house of her own. The King denies any memory of such an agreement, frustrating the strong-willed Anna.
The King introduces Anna to his head wife, Lady Thiang, who also speaks English. Tuptim asks Anna if she has any books in English which she may read, in particular Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, a book about the evils of slavery in America. The wives are most curious about Anna’s western clothing and background. Anna talks of her son and her love for her late husband, Tom (“Hello, Young Lovers”).
The children of the King’s most favored wives, including the heir to the throne Prince Chulalongkorn, greet Anna (“The March of the Siamese Children”) who is charmed and agrees to begin teaching them despite the King’s declaration that she must live in the Palace.
The King, troubled by the encroachment of Western imperialism on neighboring countries, fears that Siam will be overtaken. He begins to question his traditional thinking (“A Puzzlement”).
A year later, Anna continues to teach (“The Royal Bangkok Academy”); the children and their mothers have impressed and delighted her (“Getting to Know You”). During a geography lesson, the children are reluctant to believe some of Anna’s new ideas. The King enters and vehemently defends Anna’s teachings. Anna takes the opportunity to remind the King about his promise to give her a house of her own. They quarrel, as do Louis and Chulalongkorn, and Anna decides to leave Siam.
Anna’s impending departure greatly upsets Tuptim and Lun Tha, who have been meeting furtively, with Anna as a chaperone (“We Kiss in a Shadow”). Their rendezvous is secretly observed by Lady Thiang.
While Louis packs to leave, he and Chulalongkorn muse about their lack of understanding of the adults’ behavior (“A Puzzlement” Reprise). Later that night, Anna vents about the King’s stubbornness and the subservience he expects from his subjects (“Shall I Tell You What I Think of You?”).
Lady Thiang asks Anna to help the King; he is troubled by the approaching visit of British emissaries who view him as a barbarian. He needs Anna’s advice, but tradition and pride forbid him to ask for it. Anna is reluctant to help the King, but Lady Thiang convinces her to go (“Something Wonderful”).
The King, with Anna’s shrewdly worded help, decides to entertain the British dignitaries with a European-style dinner and dance, as well as a theatrical presentation of a play written by Tuptim, inspired by Uncle Tom’s Cabin. When the British arrive earlier than expected, the King calls upon everyone to quickly ready themselves. In a prayer to Buddha, the King resolves to give Anna the house she has long requested.
Act II
The wives prepare to wear the uncomfortable European dresses and shoes Anna has instructed them to create for the dinner and performance (“Western People Funny”).
As the dinner takes place, Tuptim sneaks away to meet Lun Tha, who reveals that he has been ordered to return to Burma immediately. They plan to run away together after Tuptim’s performance (“I Have Dreamed”).
In the theater pavilion, Tuptim and the royal dancers and singers present a Siamese version of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s book (“The Small House of Uncle Thomas”). During the presentation, an emboldened Tuptim confronts the King about slavery but he quickly puts her back in her place. Afterwards, she disappears to meet Lun Tha.
Aside from the outburst from Tuptim, the King and Anna revel in the success of the evening. The British no longer view the King as a barbarian. Anna and the King begin to share their thoughts about relationships between men and women (“Song of the King”). The King expresses a curiosity in Western-style dancing and Anna and the King dance an exuberant polka together (“Shall We Dance?”).
The Kralahome interrupts with news that Tuptim has been found. She is brought in and the King prepares to whip her. Anna, begging him not to punish her this way, calls the King a barbarian. Unable to proceed, the King exits. When Lun Tha is found dead, Anna is devastated and vows to leave Siam.
Over the next few months, the King’s health begins to decline. As Anna and Louis prepare to leave, Lady Thiang brings Anna a letter from the King, who is close to death.
Anna arrives in the King’s study, where the wives, children and priests are holding vigil over the dying King. The King asks Anna to teach the children to be brave and Anna decides to stay. As the King dies, Prince Chulalonkorn proclaims a new vision for Siam, inspired by Anna’s teachings. The Kralahome, Lady Thiang and Anna kneel by the great King’s side, paying their last respects (“Finale Ultimo”).
ENSEMBLE
Large singing and dancing ensemble consisting of Royal Dancers, Wives, Priests, Guards and the children of the King.
CHARACTERS:
Captain Orton – A British sea captain
Louis Leonowens – Anna’s Son
Anna Leonowens – A British schoolteacher, traveling to Siam, engaged to teach the Royal Children
The Interpreter – The King’s interpreter
The Kralahome – The King’s Executive Officer
The King – The King of Siam (based on the historical King Mongkut)
Phra Alack – Secretary and chief footman to the King
Lun Tha – A Burmese scholar and envoy
Tuptim – A Burmese slave
Lady Thiang – The King’s head wife – mother of Prince Chulalongkorn
Prince Chulalongkorn – The King’s eldest son and heir
Sir Edward Ramsay – A British diplomat
Princess Ying Yaowalak – One of the youngest of the King’s daughters
Nine Princes and Eight Princesses – The King’s children
Eighteen Royal Dancers (skilled enough to execute “The Small House of Uncle Thomas” ballet)
Ten Priests of Siam
Ten Royal Wives – The King’s wives
Female Guards (Amazons) – Guards of the Royal Wives
CASTING NOTE:
Rodgers & Hammerstein's The King and I is inspired by the novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon and is based on the lives of real people. The story takes place in Siam during the early 1860s in and around the Royal Palace. Many of the characters are Siamese or from surrounding countries and of Asian heritage. The actors should be cast accordingly. The use of make-up or prosthetics to alter an actor’s ethnicity is prohibited.
Rodgers & Hammerstein's The King and I is inspired by the novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon and is based on the lives of real people. The story takes place in Siam during the early 1860s in and around the Royal Palace. Many of the characters are Siamese or from surrounding countries and of Asian heritage. The actors should be cast accordingly. The use of make-up or prosthetics to alter an actor’s ethnicity is prohibited.
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Time Period 19th Century
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Setting
The King's palace in Bangkok, Siam. Early 1860s.
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Features Period Costumes
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Additional Features Not Applicable
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Duration More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
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Cautions
- No Special Cautions
Media
“Nothing has reached the same level of songwriting brilliance, political engagement and dramatic integrity all at once.” – Jesse Green, New York Magazine
“The King and I is the essence of musical theater, an occasion when drama, music, dance and decor combine to take the audience on an unforgettable journey.” – Houston Chronicle
“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
“More than any of the great golden-age musicals, for which Rodgers & Hammerstein forged the template with Oklahoma!, The King and I revels in spectacle. But its most impressive achievement is how it balances epic sweep with intimate sensibility.” – Ben Brantley, The New York Times
“The star of this production remains the show itself. It grows more impressive with each viewing.” – New York Daily News
“Has heart, drama, comedy... sets a new high standard for the musical stage.” – New York Daily Mirror
“The King and I yields a motherlode of classic songs, including ‘I Whistle a Happy Tune,’ ‘Getting To Know You,’ ‘I Have Dreamed’ and, of course, the show's signature tune, ‘Shall We Dance?’” – F. Kathleen Foley, The Los Angeles Times
Videos
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The King and I – Through Time and History
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The King and I – 2015 Tony Awards
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Gavin Creel sings “Something Wonderful”
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The King and I – 2015 Broadway Highlights
Photos
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Image: 2015 Lincoln Center Theater Production (Paul Kolnik)
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Image: 2015 Lincoln Center Theater Production (Paul Kolnik)
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Image: 2015 Lincoln Center Theater Production (Paul Kolnik)
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Image: 2019 West End Production (Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade)
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Image: 2019 West End Production (Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade)
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Image: 1996 Broadway Production (Joan Marcus)
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Image: 1996 Broadway Production (Joan Marcus)
Music
Music Samples
1. Overture – Orchestra
2. Opening Act I (Arrival At Bangkok) – Orchestra
3. “I Whistle A Happy Tune” – Anna, Louis
4. Incidental For Dialogue (Entrance Of Kralahome) – Orchestra
5. Exit: I Whistle A Happy Tune – Orchestra
6. Vignettes And Dance – Orchestra
7. “My Lord And Master” – Tuptim
7a. There Is a Happy Land – Lady Thiang
8. Incidental For Dialogue – Orchestra
9. “Hello, Young Lovers” – Anna
9a. “Encore: Hello Young Lovers” – Anna
10. Gong Cue – Orchestra
11. The March Of Siamese Children – Orchestra
12. Postlude To The March Of Siamese Children – Orchestra
13. Scene Before Curtain – Priests, Children
14. “A Puzzlement” – King
15. School Room Scene – Children, Wives
16. “Getting To Know You” – Anna, Wives, and Children
17: “Encore: Getting To Know You” – Anna, Wives, and Children
18. Incidental – Orchestra
19. “We Kiss In A Shadow” – Tuptim, Lun Tha
20. “A Puzzlement (Reprise)” – Prince, Louis
21. “Shall I Tell You What I Think Of You?” – Anna
22. “Something Wonderful” – Lady Thiang
23. Change Of Scene (Pantomime) – Orchestra
24. “Something Wonderful (Reprise)” – Lady Thiang
25. Change Of Scene (Postlude To “Something Wonderful”) – Orchestra
26. Scene (Anna And The King Planning Party) – Orchestra
27. Fireworks – Orchestra
28. “Finale Act I” – King, Ensemble
Act II
29. Entr'acte – Orchestra
30. Opening Act II – Orchestra
31. “Western People Funny” – Lady Thiang, Wives
32. Exit Of Wives – Orchestra
33. Dance Of Anna And Sir Edward – Orchestra
34. Exit Of Anna, King And Sir Edward – Orchestra
35. Incidental “We Kiss In A Shadow – Orchestra
36. “I Have Dreamed” – Lun Tha, Tuptim
37. “Hello, Young Lovers (Reprise)” – Anna
38. “The Small House Of Uncle Thomas (Ballet)” – Tuptim, Chorus, Dancers
39. Postlude Of Ballet – Orchestra
40. Incidental (Change Of Scene) – Orchestra
40a. Gong Cue – Orchestra
41. “Song of The King” – King, Anna
42. “Shall We Dance?” – Anna, King
43. Melos: My Lord And Master – Orchestra
44. Processional – Orchestra
45. Something Wonderful (Reprise): Letter Reading – Orchestra
46. Polka Doloroso (Shall We Dance?) – Orchestra
47. “I Whistle A Happy Tune (Reprise)” – Anna
48. “Finale Ultimo” – Orchestra
49. Bows & Exit Music – Orchestra
Full Orchestration
1 Flute I
1 Flute II (Doubles Piccolo)
1 Oboe (Optional Doubling English Horn)
1 Clarinet I
1 Clarinet II
1 Clarinet III (Doubling Bass Clarinet)
1 Bassoon
1 Trumpet I
1 Trumpet II
1 Trumpet III
1 Horn I
1 Horn II
1 Horn III
1 Trombone I
1 Trombone II
1 Tuba
2 Violin A (Divisi)
2 Violin B (Divisi)
2 Violin C
1 Viola
1 Cello
1 Bass
1 Harp
2 Percussion
Trap Set
Timpani
Bells
Gong
Triangle
Xylophone
Temple Blocks
Oriental Drum
Finger Cymbals
Wood Block
Ratchet
Slap Stick
Onstage Percussion for #38 The Small House of Uncle Thomas (Ballet) can be found in the Libretto-Vocal book.
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Musical Style Classic Broadway, Operetta
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Dance Requirements Moderate
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Vocal DemandsModerate
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Orchestra Size X-Large
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Chorus Size Large
Licensing & Materials
- Licensing fees and rental materials quoted upon application.
PLEASE BE ADVISED: There are multiple versions of this title. Before you proceed, please double-check to ensure that you are applying for the version you want. We will not be able to refund rental or shipping fees if you pay for the wrong version. If you’re not sure which version best suits your needs, you may purchase a perusal for each available version.
Music Rentals
Full Package:
20 Vocal Book
1 Piano-Conductor
1 Flute 1
1 Flute 2
1 Oboe
1 Clarinet 1
1 Clarinet 2
1 Clarinet 3
1 Bassoon
1 Trumpet 1
1 Trumpet 2
1 Trumpet 3
1 Horn 1
1 Horn 2
1 Horn 3
1 Trombone 1
1 Trombone 2
1 Tuba
2 Percussion
1 Harp
2 Violin A
2 Violin B
2 Violin C
1 Viola
1 Cello
1 Bass
1 Logo Pack
Two-Piano Arrangement:
20 Vocal Book
1 Piano-Conductor
2 Two-Piano Arrangement (Act 1)
2 Two-Piano Arrangement (Act 2)
1 Logo Pack
Piano Only:
20 Vocal Book
1 Piano-Conductor
1 Logo Pack
Optional Performance Tracks:
Performance Tracks are available through Sinfonia by Real Time Music Solutions (RMS) at an additional fee. Interested licensees should reach out to RMS directly to secure Sinfonia Performance Tracks.
Additional Material:
A Full Score is available for this title for an additional fee. Please contact your licensing representative for additional information.
1 Piano-Conductor
1 Logo Pack
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