‘The King and I’: Shall We Have Glorious Perfection?

The ensemble in "The King and I." Brett Beiner

CHICAGO—It’s such a welcome pleasure to be able to enjoy a show just as its creators intended. There’s no changing of Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s masterful work in Drury Lane’s exquisite and enchanting production of “The King and I.” Indeed, this is such a glorious musical that it would be a sacrilege to change one moment of it.

Oscar Hammerstein and Richard Rodgers adapted Margaret Landon’s 1944 biographical novel of “Anna and the King of Siam” to create one of the most memorable Broadway musicals of the 1950s. With lyrics by Hammerstein and melodic songs by Rodgers, these theatrical giants crafted a grand love story about the clash and romance between two determined and stubborn individuals who hold different values and come from different cultures.

Clash of Cultures

The show is set in 1862 as widowed schoolteacher Anna Leonowens and her son Louis arrive in Siam (modern Thailand). She has traveled halfway around the world to tutor the children and many wives of King Mongkut. It doesn’t take long before their differing societal backgrounds come to the surface. Anna believes that she is being hired as a teacher while the King thinks he has added another servant. She comes from a culture of monogamy while the King thinks it’s only his right and due to have a harem.