The King and I July 3 2014

The King and I

Princess Theatre Thursday July 3 2014.

The King and I is the classic Rodgers andHammerstein musical presented jointly by Opera Australia and John Frost.  This Tony Awardwinning production is revived at the Princess Theatre is a feast for your eyes.

Lisa McCune stars as Anna Leonowens.  She shines, sparkles, and exhilarates in her  interpretation of this famous role.   This is her show.  After her masterful performances in "The Sound of Music", "Cabaret", "A Little Night Music" and others, it is great to see her in another Rodgers and Hammerstein role.  It is as if they were written for her.

Lisa's singing is the most confident and pure in the whole evening.  It is consistently musical and in tune.   He singing shows up the jarring and flat tones of some of the other singers.  Her accent is very "Received Pronunciation" and does not falter in consistency.  She is a selfless performer who is focused on creating the relationships and connections with her co-stars.  Her presence enhances the atmosphere of Siam and her memories of her previous life abroad are held within her heart.

We are welcomed to the theatre with the incense of Buddhist monks sitting on the stage.

I  was waiting for the "Please turn off mobile phones message" and was disappointed this did not occur.  I suggest that this is done at their peril.  I had to tell two people to turn off their phones during Act Two.  I did pass on my feedback to a very pleasant usher who directed me to her supervisor who then in turn referred me to the Princess Theatre's Front of House Manager.  She was very obliging and concerned that her staff could not see these phones being turned on.  She is vigilant in her job as I have seen (from afar) her dedication to the theatre and respect for excellent customer service.

The overture lead by Peter Casey was superbly realised.  The opening sequence is superbly staged on a narrow walkway.  I loved the entrance of Anna wearing a crinoline and navigating this narrow walkway.

The staging, costumes and set designs are superb.  Directed by Christopher Renshaw with Musical Staging by Callum Mansfield creates a story that held my attention, even though I had seen the film many times.  The main truck that carried the King's throne made a visual impact rolling forward to command our attention.

The costumes by Roger Kirk are exquisitely ornate and pay homage to the Siam kingdom and the British Empire. The crinolines scene with the Siamese women not wearing underwear pays homage to Queen Victoria and her crotch-less knickers to "spend a penny." (Refer to the article in The Age pages 2-3, July 12th 2014 about the "Undressed" exhibition in Bendigo).  So more credit is due to Rogers and Hammerstein for this historically accurate joke.

The sets by Brian Thomson are clever in design and create an opulent frame to focus our attention without over shadowing the characters or the story.  We can still marvel at majestic settings and revel in the atmospheres they help to create.

The staging, which allows for the multiple casts of children, is effective and honours my memory of the film.  I particularly enjoyed The Small House of Uncle Thomas sequence that punctuates the story and mood.  The staging and dancing paid honourable homage to the original choreography by Jerome Robbins.

I enjoyed John Adams who played the dual roles Sir Edward Ramsay and Captain Orton.  He differentiated between the characters and made me giggle at the right times.

Adraina Li Dooni as Lun Tha sang pleasantly and confidently, and did not seem fazed at some off notes by his female companion.  He was there to support generously and not be thrown.

Some of the children lost focus during the performance.  While others held the character throughout.

Lousie Leonowens was terrific and held his characterisation. He sang with the right amount of trepidation with his mother.  It was great to see his development in his very short scenes. Apologies that I cannot acknowledge your name as the children's cast list was not posted in the foyer.

The young Prince Chulalongkorn lost focus and was watching the audience while Anna and the King were in their final scene.  This young man should maintain his characterisation and seemed to be "acting by numbers".

Overall I would recommend this show to see Lisa. LisaMcCune. For who? FOR LISA MCCUNE!!!

I also posted this on to the Ticketmaster site:

Lisa McCune excels in this iconic role with her pure singing and her interpretation of Anna.  Sadly Jason Scott Lee had been injured and we saw the understudy who was very capable but too young for the role and needs to hold his stances with more commanding stillness and authority.  Some of the singing by the two main female supports was piercing, shrieking, and off key. The sets and costumes are sumptuous and no wonder this production won Tony Awards back in the early 1990s.  Sadly there was no announcement to remind patrons to turn off mobile phones not to use recording devices.  This could have been achieved by the king's authority.  Sadly two rude people decided to turn on their mobile phones and proceed to distract others.  Please put up visual signs that emphasise that phones etc cannot be used in the theatre UPON ENTRY!

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