Hull New Theatre – until 6th May 2023
Reviewed by Dawn Bennett
5*****
The Lincoln Center Theater Production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The King and I got a very well-deserved standing ovation last night at Hull New Theatre.
Directed by Bartlett Sher it tells the story of Anna Leonowens (Annalene Beechey) who travels to Siam to be the teacher to the King of Siam’s (Darren Lee) many children and wives. We follow the story from Anna arriving in Siam with her young son, Louis (Dexter Barry) and she becomes part of the Kings plan to modernise his country.
Annalene Beechey was magnificent as schoolteacher Anna, her voice was so clear and precise. Darren Lee (The King) was made to play this part; he was very convincing as the King who was torn between tradition and bringing his country up to date. Cezarah Bonner (Lady Thiang) and Kitt Pakapom (Prince Chulalongkarn) played their parts with conviction. Marienella Phillips (Tuptim) and Dean John-Wilson (Lun Tha) romance was beautifully played and their duets were heart-breaking and Tuptims solo piece was so good you could hear a pin drop in the theatre. Kok-Hwa Lee who played Kralahome with just the right amount of menace and he was a very imposing character.
The orchestra played the very recognisable Rodgers and Hammerstein’s score so well, and songs such as Shall We Dance, Getting to Know You, I Whistle a Happy tune and many others. The sound levels between the orchestra and the cast were so well balanced that I could hear every word that was sung and spoken. The costumes (Catherine Zuber) were stunning and the sets (Michael Yeargan) were simple and effective.
I was surprised to see, at the curtain call, how small this multi-talented cast was. They all played their parts so well, the ensemble is some of the best I’ve seen, from the adults to the fabulous children they were all brilliant.
It has been quite hard to put into words how good this production is, so I will describe it in one word…superb!