Image by Taylormade Digital Images.
Although billed as an ‘Australian Premiere’, this production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 1950s musical The King and I, that is currently playing at the Lyric Theatre in Brisbane, is at least the fourth to have graced Australian stages – according to the program notes.
This is, in fact, a gorgeous, sumptuous revival of Christopher Renshaw’s 1991 production, designed by Brian Thompson and Roger Kirk, with most of the original production team on board.
The story of an English teacher who travels with her small son to Siam (now Thailand) in the mid-19th century, to become the tutor to the many children of the King of Siam, has some elements of historical fact – there was indeed such a tutor. By the time Mrs Anna Leonowens’ memoir, highly selective with matters of fact, had been converted into a novel published in 1944, and then transformed into a musical in 1951, it might have been a kindness to change the names and acknowledge it a fantasy. For one thing, Anna Leonowens was of Eurasian origin, not the blonde English rose she portrayed herself as.
Nevertheless, Rodgers and Hammerstein managed to create something wonderful, an almost perfect example of the music theatre form, including a song by that name (‘Something Wonderful’), sung in this production by the stunning Chinese artist, Shu-Cheen Yu. She brings a majestic grace, dignity and warmth to the role of Lady Thiang, the King’s head wife, as well as a glorious voice.
Renshaw’s direction confronts the uncomfortable elements of cultural exploitation by choosing to reveal rather than avoid the underlying colonial attitudes and behaviours that are now understood as unacceptable. Lisa McCune’s Anna is cool and prim, gradually softening and warming under the generous influence of the King’s wives and children. Teddy Tahu Rhodes brings a wealth of charm and magnetism to the King, and his comic timing is delicious.
Marty Rhone (The Kralahome) demonstrates the subtle complexity of this character who, like Lady Thiang, understands much more about the nature of the King’s power and his humanity than the foreign (Western) powers who crave dominion over his country. Jenny Liu’s Tuptim is feisty and adorable, although the voice is yet to settle into the music theatre genre. Adrian Li Donni, on the other hand, brings a perfect music theatre sensibility to the role of her lover, Lun Tha.
Musical Director Peter Casey steers the music, with its deceptively simple melodies and cleverly understated oriental motifs, with great skill, and the sets and costumes have been lovingly and lavishly recreated.
It is not surprising that the original Renshaw production, produced by John Frost and the Adelaide Festival Centre Trust, went on to win four Tony Awards in New York, followed by a successful season in London. I should not be in the least surprised if this production, with its wealth of highly skilled performers, does the same.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
The King and I
Presented by Opera Australia and John Frost
Music: Richard Rodgers
Books and Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II
Director: Christopher Renshaw
Musical Director: Peter Casey
Set Design: Brian Thomson
Costume Design: Roger Kirk
Lighting Design: Nigel Levings
Original Choreography: Jerome Robbins
Choreography: Susan Kikuchi
Cast: Lisa McCune, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Marty Rhone, Shu-Cheen Yu, Jenny Liu, Adrian Li Donni, Sebastian Li, Timothy Ho, Riley Brooker, Bailey Kelleher and John Adam
The Lyric Theatre, QPAC, South Bank
www.qpac.com.au
From 13 April
