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December 19, 2003
A regal Gateway production
Background to King and I shouldn't keep audiences from
enjoying play.
LAURI DONAHUE SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
The King and I, now playing at the Gateway Theatre, is both
a natural and a problematic choice for multicultural Richmond.
The musical – loosely based on the true story of an English
governess who came to the royal court of Siam (Thailand) in 1860
– provides roles for many talented local actors of Asian heritage.
But it's deemed so offensive in Thailand that it's been banned there
ever since the movie version came out in 1956.
The governess, Anna Leonowens, wrote two books entitled The English
Governess at the Siamese Court and The Romance of the Harem.
These inspired the best-selling novel Anna and the King of Siam,
which has twice been filmed in non-musical versions, most recently
with Jodie Foster as Anna.
The story caught the imagination of Jewish composer and lyricist
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II (Oklahoma, Carousel,
South Pacific, The Sound of Music) and The King
and I opened on Broadway in 1951, starring Yul Brynner and Gertrude
Lawrence. It won several Tony Awards, including Best Musical in
1952 and Best Musical Revival in 1996.
The problem is, the musical treats King Rama IV (also known as Mongkut)
as an uncivilized and ignorant western-wannabe, dependent on Anna
for political guidance. In fact, the king was a scholar and former
Buddhist monk who knew English, French, Sanskrit and Latin, studied
political and natural sciences and the Bible, built an observatory
and was an accomplished astronomer, sent his son (the future king)
to Oxford, and – alone among his Southeast Asian neighbors
– managed to avoid having his country colonized or "protected"
by foreign powers.
Anna embellished much of the story to boost her book sales. She
was the widow of a clerk – not a British officer. She described
the king throwing disfavored wives into underground dungeons –
dungeons that couldn't exist in Bangkok's watery soil. And, in contrast
to the touching scene in the musical, in which she attends the king's
deathbed and then decides to remain in Siam to guide his heir, she
was actually on vacation in America at the time of Rama's death
– and was not invited back by his son.
Anna eventually settled in Canada, living in Halifax from 1876 to
1897, where she pioneered many social programs and cultural institutions,
founding what is now the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.
She died in Montreal in 1915.
But on to the show...
The Gateway's musical productions combine professional crew with
a mostly amateur cast. Only the two leads – John James Hong
as the king and Annabel Kershaw as Anna – are members of Actor's
Equity and they're definitely the standouts in the acting department.
However, the amateurs' singing voices are every bit as good as the
professionals' here.
One of the best voices belongs to Dolores Scott as Tuptim. Her duet
"I Have Dreamed," with the excellent Octavio Carrillo
as Lun Tha, is especially strong.
Most of the songs are pretty but not particularly memorable –
the fault of the composers and not the able performers. Only "Getting
to Know You" (a favorite of school choirs everywhere) and "Shall
We Dance?" have really become popular standards.
Speaking of dance, there isn't a lot of it here, with only two big
production numbers including the extended "Small House of Uncle
Thomas." The dancers occasionally seem a bit stiff and shaky,
while coping with the challenging Thai-inspired choreography.
The scenic design (by Phillip Tidd), lighting design (Shane Droucker)
and especially costume design by Rebekka Sorensen are outstanding.
Just one of Anna's huge silk dresses would blow the entire costume
budget of your average community theatre production. Her opening
costume of navy silk with white trim is a stunner right out of the
Godey's Lady's Book (the Victorians' Vogue). The design
elements all work together beautifully to fill the Gateway stage
with jewel tones.
If one can overcome one's political concerns, The King and I
provides an enjoyable evening out for the whole family.
The play runs to Jan. 4 at the Gateway Theatre, 6500 Gilbert Rd.
For tickets, which range from $26 to $32, call 604-270-1812 or visit
www.gatewaytheatre.com.
Lauri Donahue is an award-winning playwright and the rebbetzin
of Beth Tikvah Congregation in Richmond.
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