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The King and I

The Royal Albert Hall, Inner London
From: Friday, 12th June 2009
To: Sunday, 28 June 2009

Our Review: Your Reviews:

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Synopsis

The 1951 classic is based on a diary, entitled Anna and the King, which tells the story of young Westerner Anna Leonowens who is brought to the court of the king of Siam to become the tutor for his children. The musical, which was made into a film starring Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner in 1956, features several classic songs including "Shall We Dance", "Getting to Know You", "Hello Young Lovers" and "I Whistle a Happy Tune".

Our Review:

Michael Coveney - 15 June 2009

It is nine years since Elaine Paige led a sumptuous but emotionally inert production of this glorious operatic musical – Rodgers and Hammerstein’s penultimate collaboration – at the London Palladium, so there’s plenty of room for improvement in Jeremy Sams’ revival.

As in his splendid production of The Sound of Music, Sams finds real heart in the story of a British governess hired to control a bunch of children and their despotic father. He also nearly has the king whip a bare-backed, rebellious Burmese lover, and the saffron-robed monks loomingly suggest internal upheaval as well as culture clash.

Maria Friedman as Anna Leonowens, the officer’s widow who arrives in Bangkok from Singapore to take up the teaching post, and Daniel Dae Kim (the 40-year-old South Korean actor best known for playing the enigmatic Jin in Lost on television), prove a very good pairing. She’s lovely, and he’s c...

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Latest User Review

Gareth James - 27 June 2009:

I�m a sucker for musicals but the reviews of this lowered my expectations, which may be why I enjoyed it so much! Far from being lost in the vast space, I thought director Jeremy Sams and designer Robert Jones has performed a miracle in balancing the spectacle with the intimate and, as they did with the Sound of Music, found the serious beneath the schmaltz. The sound was excellent, so despite the venue size you heard every word (unlike some West End shows!) and the singing and playing was first class. Daniel Kim can�t sing for toffee, but he can act (and fortunately he doesn�t have much to sing!). Maria Friedman was radiant and totally commanded the stage. A very pleasant surprise!...

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