King and I, The, is one of the greatest musicals in the history of the American theater. It was written by the famous team of Richard Rodgers, who composed the music, and Oscar Hammerstein II, who wrote the story and the lyrics. The musical opened in 1951 and ran for three years. The hit show made a star of Yul Brynner, who played the role of the king of Siam. Gertrude Lawrence starred as Anna opposite Brynner in the original Broadway production.
The King and I was derived from the novel Anna and the King of Siam (1944) by Margaret Landon. Landon based her book on the diaries of Anna Leonowens, an English schoolteacher who was a governess in the household of the king of Siam (now Thailand) during the mid-1800’s.
The musical portrays the relationship between Anna and the king, a monarch used to unquestioned authority. The king hires the Englishwoman to tutor his many children. Anna and the king begin their relationship in hostility but gradually come to respect each other. A subplot portrays the tragic romance between Lun Tha, a Burmese man, and Tuptim, a young member of the king’s court. The Rodgers and Hammerstein score ranks among the finest in American musical theater, with such songs as “I Whistle a Happy Tune,” “Hello, Young Lovers,” “Getting to Know You,” “We Kiss in a Shadow,” “Something Wonderful,” “I Have Dreamed,” and “Shall We Dance?”
Jerome Robbins created the show’s choreography (dances), which provided two of the production’s highlights. The first was “The March of the Siamese Children,” in which Anna is introduced to the king’s many children. The second was “The Small House of Uncle Thomas,” a ballet that blends the story of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, an antislavery novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe, with Asian dance traditions.
The King and I advocates racial tolerance, understanding between peoples of different backgrounds, and the fight for freedom over tyranny. However, many Thai people believe the musical gives a false picture of their culture and the reign of King Mongkut, the model for the king in the musical. Some critics also accuse the show of portraying the Siamese as childlike and unsophisticated, at least from the Western viewpoint. But The King and I remains one of the most popular musicals.
The King and I was filmed in 1956. Yul Brynner repeated his role as the king and won the Academy Award for best actor. Deborah Kerr received an Academy Award nomination for her performance as Anna.
Landon’s novel also became the basis of other motion pictures. Anna and the King of Siam (1946) starred Irene Dunne and Rex Harrison. Anna and the King (1999) featured Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat in the title roles.
