Oscar Hammerstein to Richard Rodgers, November 28, 1956

Dear Dick:

Last night I saw the picture, “The King And I” again. This morning I am convinced that this is our best work. I have a kind of humble feeling of not knowing how we did it. It has more wisdom as well as heart than any other musical play by anybody. It will remain “modern” long after any of our other plays. It seems to me to be far in advance of them in its mental and emotional adulthood.

—The Letters of Oscar Hammerstein, edited by Mark Eden Horowitz

Sometime in the late 1950s, or perhaps in 1960, my piano teacher Ann Layser lent me her album of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The King and I (the movie cast album) because she knew I liked their music, but as far as I can recall I never saw a performance of the show or the movie version until 1967 or 68. That was my first year at Penn State when I saw that it was going to be on TV, so I made my way down to the basement TV room and managed to watch it on the black and white television there. Not the best viewing experience for that wide screen color movie.

In the early 80s my aunt Irene and my mother came to Philadelphia to catch a performance of the touring company of the show where Yul Brynner was repeating his Tony and Oscar winning performance, and we got to see it from way up in the Family Circle of the cavernous Academy of Music. Once again probably not the best viewing experience.

When the movie came out on DVD in the 2000s, I scooped it up along with the other Rodgers and Hammerstein movies and I think I watched it then, and as far as I can recall, that’s the sum total of my viewings of that show.

It’s not that I disliked the show, it’s just that I wasn’t sure that it stood the test of time. Perhaps it had dated a bit more than the other R&H shows.

Then a few days ago I listened to the episode of A Musical Theatre Podcast devoted to the show: The King and I with Mark Eden Horowitz & Joan Almedilla

And suddenly I had a whole new respect for The King and I.

I watched the movie again, which I had on Plex because I had bought the Blu-ray but just never bothered watching it. And I loved it.

I was surprised—surprised that I knew so many of the lines, given how seldom I’ve actually seen the show. I guess I knew it better than I thought I did.

I also have a copy of the most recent Broadway production directed by Bartlett Sher which had been broadcast on PBS, and I watched that. Like Sher did for other R&H musicals, he rethought the show, but the main thing he did was to make Lady Thiang, the King’s main wife, a stronger character.

As Joan Almedilla says on the podcast, there are three women in the show; one who fights the system (Anna), one who works within the system (Lady Thiang), and Tuptim who runs away from the system. When you look at it from that viewpoint, it puts the show in a very different perspective. It’s not just a battle between Anna and the King but a much more nuanced clash of wills.

Of course, the show is not history, and Thailand has banned the musical because they feel it disrespects their king. So perhaps it’s best to think of it as taking place in a mythical land called Siam.

The movie follows the play pretty closely, mostly missing a few of the songs (I would add a couple of those back). The producer Darryl F. Zanuck insisted on cutting the song “Is a Puzzlement” so it was originally not filmed, but when he saw the completed movie he realized he was an idiot and that it was required so he authorized reshoots, and the song was added. Now in general I have no problem if a movie musical looks like a filmed Broadway play, but I think they made a mistake with this song. It’s filmed exactly like it was done on stage, with Brynner singing directly to the audience while remaining in one spot. This is one time where I think it would have made sense for him to be wandering around the palace or the palace grounds as he sang. Perhaps if Zanuck hadn’t been such an ass about it to begin with, more thought would have been put into re-staging it.

When I was a boy
World was better spot.
What was so was so,
What was not was not.
Now I am a man—
World have change a lot:
Some things nearly so,
Others nearly not.

There are times I almost think
I am not sure of what I absolutely know.
Very often find confusion
In conclusion I concluded long ago.
In my head are many facts
That, as a student, I have studied to procure.
In my head are many facts
Of which I wish I was more certain l was sure!

(He speaks:) Is a puzzlement!

I highly recommend listening to the Musical Theatre Podcast devoted to The King and I. If you aren’t sure if you like the show, it might change your mind.

A Musical Theatre Podcast THE KING AND I with Mark Eden Horowitz & Joan Almedilla

In 1951, THE KING AND I changed musical theatre, and now in 2022, the modern world has changed THE KING AND I. While everyone can (and should) have an opinion on this work of art, this week’s episode provides context for those opinions thanks to some incredible guests. Historian from the Library of Congress, Mark Eden Horowitz, joins us after spending an entire year studying the correspondence of Oscar Hammerstein II, and Broadway star Joan Almedilla (MISS SAIGON) guides us through the show after having walked it many times in Lady Thiang’s shoes. Whether you pronounce Anna like “apple” or “honor;” and whether you’re whistling a happy tune or giving your best “RBF” (resting bitch face), this episode celebrates both where we’ve been and how far we’ve come.

LOUIS Was he as good a king as he could have been?

ANNA Louis, I don’t think any man has ever been as good a king as he could have been … but this one tried. He tried very hard.

 

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