The King and I

The Tony-winning musical theatre dream team is at it again. Bartlett Sher, who first teamed with Kelli O’Hara in The Light in the Piazza and breathed new life into the 2008 revival of South Pacific has brought a new production of The King and I to Broadway. And trust me, it is new.

Known for its classic musical theatre songs like, “I Whistle a Happy Tune,” “Hello, Young Lovers” and “Shall We Dance?” as well as the phrase, “etcetera, etcetera, etcetera!” The King and I has long been a staple of musical theatre — Broadway, regional and local. It’s considered a classic, or even dated, by many. But with Sher at the helm, this luscious and lavish production at the Vivian Beaumot Theater is strikingly and surprisingly relevant.

And this change is thanks to the trio of powerhouse women at the center of the show: Kelli O’Hara as Anna Leonowens, the English widow who arrives in Siam to teach the King’s children; Ruthie Ann Miles as Lady Thiang, the head wife to the King; and Ashley Park as Tuptim, the young woman given to the King as a present. O’Hara, one of the most valuable and versatile leading ladies of Broadway, gives Anna a strong and stiff backbone as well as a beautiful vulnerability. Her son, Louis, is given a natural performance by Jake Lucas. Her performance of “Hello, Young Lovers,” is particularly moving as she recalls her relationship with her late husband, Tom. It was clearly a happy marriage. And her chemistry with the King, while obvious and seriously charged, is not the only reason she makes her decisions. This is an Anna who is not afraid to forge her own way.

As Lady Thiang, a quiet observer of everything that happens in the castle, Miles also possess a backbone of silent strength. Her performance is captivating; as she watches the secretive encounters between Tuptim and Lun Tha (Conrad Ricamora), one can’t help but wonder what is going through her mind. And her first-act solo “Something Wonderful,” her love for her King, as well as her son, radiates through every line. It’s a new kind of Lady Thiang, one never seen in this musical before.

As Tuptim, the young wife with a secret lover, Park depicts the uncertainty and fear that women in that country were filled with, as well as her streak of independence that fuels her decisions, however risky they may be.

The production is packed with feasts for the eyes, with costumes by Catherine Zuber, sets by Michael Yeargan and choreography by Christopher Gattelli. Sher’s sumptuous staging, with a crowd of adorable children, spares no elegance in its presentation of the story. And when the King and Anna finally join hands in the second-act showstopper “Shall We Dance?”, the chaste consummation of that chemistry is worth the wait.