The King and I

The King and I is the perfect musical – exotic settings, a timeless score, and one of the best books that has ever been written for the musical theatre. The libretto is so strong that it could be played in any lounge room without set and costumes and would still work.

Fortunately we don’t have to let our imaginations run riot because Roger Kirk and Brian Thomson have done that for us. Both designers have washed the stage with such opulent costumes and sets, that Bangkok of the 1860s leaps breathlessly to life in all its colourful splendour with red, crimson, turquoise and more gold leaf than you’d find in a Chiang Mai temple. Their designs won awards on Broadway in 1998 and they’re still the jewels of this revival production.

The King and I’s story has always charmed; a boyishly impulsive man who wants to be progressive but still feels the pull of the barbaric, and a gentle but dominant Englishwoman who are attracted to each other, but don’t know they’re in love with each other, is the ultimate musical love story and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s treatment of it is classic musical theatre.

Teddy Tahu Rhodes is charismatic as the King and sings the role better than most actors who have played it. There’s little chance for him to display his magnificent voice as he did in South Pacific, but he still commands the stage and delivers a fine reading of “A Puzzlement”. Australia has seen many Mrs Annas over the years but Lisa McCune is up there with the best of them. She swirls her hoop-skirted crinolines with finesse and captivatingly sings “Getting to Know You”. Together she and Rhodes polka their way around and around the stage in “Shall We Dance”. It’s spirited and draws audience applause but just misses in capturing the elusive emotion of the moment.

Shu-Cheen Yu as Lady Thiang sang a beautifully controlled “Something Wonderful”, while Jenny Liu and Adrian Li Donni as the young lovers Tuptim and Lun Tha, vocally soared on “We Kiss in a Shadow”, and “I Have Dreamed”.

The iconic second act ballet “The Small House of Uncle Thomas” has always been a highlight and in this production did not disappoint, while the first act’s “The March of the Siamese Children” pleased as usual.

The orchestra under Peter Casey’s baton was tight and fast, and despite a clunky opening scene at the docks, Christopher Renshaw’s direction was fluid. But this is one show where you do come out whistling the sets and costumes. Bangkok (of the 1860s) is alive in splendid detail on the stage of the Lyric Theatre.

Peter Pinne

Images: Lisa McCune and Teddy Tahu Rhodes; Adrian Li Donni and Jenni Lui; Lisa McCune and the ensemble; Lisa McCune and Teddy Tahu Rhodes, and Leah Lim (Topsy) in Uncle Tom's Cabin. Photographer: Brian Geach.

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