Photo by Paul Kolnik
There have been some amazing musical revivals on the Great White Way this season, but still going strong at the Lincoln Center's beautiful Vivian Beaumont is last year's winner of the Tony for Best Musical Revival and our #ShowOfTheWeek - The King and I!
This week is your last chance to catch the original cast members of this production - the incomparable Tony winner Kelli O'Hara as Anna Leonowens alongside her Tony-nominated King of Siam Ken Watanabe. Both actors will play their final performances in their respective roles on 17 April 2016.
Perhaps the most lavish musical in town at the moment, The King and I is a fitting choice for both veteran theatregoers and those looking to experience a Broadway classic for the first time. From the timeless score by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II (including such classics as "Getting to Know You," "Shall We Dance?" and "Something Wonderful," amongst others) to the exquisite costumes designed by Catherine Zuber, the production ticks every box.
Above all, it is a well-deserved Tony-winning performance by the show's leading lady, Kelli O'Hara. She brings both strength and vulnerability to the role of Anna, nailing the British accent and exuberating grace with her dance skills. I'm sure she will be sorely missed at the Lincoln Center next week, but if the rumours are true, then London audiences will surely be in for a treat, if she makes her West End debut with the show's transfer.
Read our exclusive interview with Kelli O'Hara HERE.
Make sure you arrive at the Lincoln Center with plenty of time to spare because the opening scene of this musical is not to be missed, as Anna arrives in Siam atop a huge ship, which wades towards the audience with an omnipotent presence.
The huge company is also comprised of some of the most talented Asian and Asian-American actors in theatre - an ethnic group which is sadly often underrepresented on the main stem. They are led by Oscar nominee Ken Watanabe, who has courageously fought off stomach cancer and returned to the role of the King, and the ever-stunning Tony winner Ruthie Ann Miles as Lady Thiang. What a journey these two have had with this acclaimed spectacle, brought to you under the well-calculated direction of Bartlett Sher.
All I can say is that if you don't know this musical (and this revival production) already, it's about high time you got to know it!
Click here for tickets to The King and I for performances through to 4 September 2016 at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theatre.
Ken Watanabe (The King of Siam) & Kelli O'Hara (Anna) in The King and I More production photosOriginally published on