Flower Drum Song tells of a wealthy Chinese refugee who attempts to retain his Asian culture while living in San Francisco. Torn between his Chinese roots and the American way of life, he feels pressure to mix East/West identities. Rodgers and Hammerstein didn’t create this musical on an original idea though; they took inspiration for their 1958 musical from C. Y. Lee’s The Flower Drum Song. The Sound of Music (1959) Taking pride of place in London’s West End since 1997, The Lion King has been delighting audiences for the past three decades. The multi-award-winning musical has redefined family theatre, elevating the genre through its ingenious use of puppetry and jaw-dropping special effects. When theatregoers step into the Lyceum Theatre they are immediately transported into the heart of the Pride Lands. Will you be joining them for an unforgettable trip? The pair had to overcome the challenge of how to represent Thai speech and music. Rodgers, who had experimented with Asian music in his short-lived 1928 musical with Lorenz Hart titled Chee-chee, [22] did not wish to use actual Thai music, which American audiences might not find accessible. Instead, he gave his music an exotic flavor, using open fifths and chords in unusual keys, in ways pleasant to Western ears. [23] [24] Hammerstein faced the problem of how to represent Thai speech; he and Rodgers chose to convey it by musical sounds, made by the orchestra. For the King's style of speech, Hammerstein developed an abrupt, emphatic way of talking, which was mostly free of articles, as are many East Asian languages. The forceful style reflected the King's personality and was maintained even when he sang, especially in his one solo, "A Puzzlement". [24] Many of the King's lines, including his first utterance, "Who? Who? Who?", and much of the initial scene between him and Anna, are drawn from Landon's version. Nevertheless, the King is presented more sympathetically in the musical than in the novel or the 1946 film, as the musical omits the torture and burning at the stake of Lady Tuptim and her partner. [25]

a b c "Brynner Bows Out as 'King of Slam'", The Dispatch, July 1, 1985, p. 2. Retrieved January 4, 2013 Farley Granger, Kevin Gray, Daniel Dae Kim, Hoon Lee, Jason Scott Lee, Jose Llana, Herbert Lom, Darren McGavin, Paul Nakauchi, Rudolf Nureyev, Lou Diamond Phillips, Zachary Scott, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Ramon Tikaram, Ken Watanabe, Peter WyngardeMorgan, Susan. Bombay Anna: The Real Story and Remarkable Adventures of the King and I Governess, Berkeley, Cal.: University of California Press, 2008; ISBN 978-0-520-25226-4. Evita Star Marti Webb Continues U.K. Tour of King and I". Playbill. August 23, 2002 . Retrieved September 15, 2021. Atkinson, Brooks. "Theatre: London Trio; Kismet Pleases Queen, King and I Is Listless, Wonderful Town Too British", The New York Times, May 17, 1955, p. 33. Retrieved December 27, 2012. (subscription required) Student Services Online Navigation link in category Student Services. Press escape key to return to main menu Hischak, Thomas S. The Oxford Companion to the American Musical: theatre, film, and television. Oxford University Press US, 2008, p. 396 ISBN 978-0-19-533533-0

a b c d e f Grossberg, Michael. "British director lends authenticity to The King and I", The Columbus Dispatch ( Columbus, Ohio), February 1, 1998. Retrieved February 20, 2011 Staat Hannover (1858). Hof- und Staatshandbuch für das Königreich Hannover: 1858. Berenberg. pp. 37, 66. Funke, Lewis. "Theater: The King and I; Eileen Brennan Stars at City Center", The New York Times, June 13, 1963, p. 28Liste des Membres de l'Ordre de Léopold", Almanach Royal Officiel (in French), 1850, p.35, archived from the original on 15 May 2021 , retrieved 13 March 2021– via Archives de Bruxelles The pair discussed having an Act 1 musical scene involving Anna and the King's wives. The lyrics for that scene proved to be very difficult for Hammerstein to write. He first thought that Anna would simply tell the wives something about her past, and wrote such lyrics as "I was dazzled by the splendor/Of Calcutta and Bombay" and "The celebrities were many/And the parties very gay/(I recall a curry dinner/And a certain Major Grey)." [31] Eventually, Hammerstein decided to write about how Anna felt, a song which would not only explain her past and her motivation for traveling with her son to the court of Siam, but also serve to establish a bond with Tuptim and lay the groundwork for the conflict that devastates Anna's relationship with the King. [18] [31] "Hello, Young Lovers", the resulting song, was the work of five exhausting weeks for Hammerstein. He finally sent the lyrics to Rodgers by messenger and awaited his reaction. Hammerstein considered the song his best work and was anxious to hear what Rodgers thought of it, but no comment came from Rodgers. Pride kept Hammerstein from asking. Finally, after four days, the two happened to be talking on the phone about other matters, and at the end of the conversation, Rodgers stated, very briefly, that the lyric was fine. Josh Logan, who had worked closely with Hammerstein on South Pacific, listened to the usually unflappable writer pour out his unhappy feelings. It was one of the few times that Hammerstein and Rodgers did not display a united front. [32] Casting and auditions [ edit ] Yul Brynner in the original production of The King and I