35^th Festival Season - 2013

THE KING AND I

Music by Richard Rodgers

Book & Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II

Based on "Anna and the King of Siam" by Margaret Landon

ACT I: Anna Leonowens, a British widow, arrives in Bangkok with her son Louis to assume duties as a governess to the children of the King of Siam. When the Kralahome, the King’s prime minister, instructs her to go to the palace, she reminds him that she was promised by the King a house of her own. She will take the matter up with the King personally. Lun Tha, emissary from the court of Burma, arrives weeks later with a present for the King, a young woman named Tuptim. Although she recognizes the monarch as her Lord and Master, it is clear that she and Lun Tha have fallen in love during their journey. Anna is finally presented to the King, who indicates his desire to bring Western culture to his country. He signals for his children to be presented to their new schoolteacher. Lady Thiang, the King’s head wife, is introduced to Anna, who is aghast when Thiang prostrates herself before the King and equally taken aback when she learns that Tuptim is a gift to the King. The King ignores Anna’s request for her own home - she must live in the palace. The children arrive and are presented to Anna, none more ceremonially than Crown Prince Chulalongkorn. Anna is touched by the charm and sweetness of the children - it is clear that they are going to be fast friends. Months go by - although he will not admit it, the King has proved willing to learn as much as his children. But it remains a “puzzlement” to him to know for sure what is good and what is right for his family and country.  A year goes by - the King has supported Anna’s efforts to educate his children, but still refuses her request for a house. When he refers to her as his servant, she angrily rebuts him and threatens to return to England. Meanwhile, Tuptim and Lun Tha, in a tender scene, have confirmed their mutual love. Unsure of her future, Anna is visited by Lady Thiang and encouraged to go the King, who, she says, was greatly insulted by Anna’s earlier outburst. Refusing at first, Anna relents when Lady Thiang pours out her heart for the husband she adores. In a very light-hearted meeting in which it is not clear who is taming whom, the King agrees to provide Anna her own bungalow. They all ready for the visit of a British diplomat, Edward Ramsay, and the opportunity to demonstrate to him that the King is not the barbarian that he has been portrayed to be.

ACT II: Ramsay and Anna are old friends - their harmless intimacy at a palace soiree annoys the King, who interjects himself between the two and insists that Anna accompany him to dinner. Lady Thiang warns Tuptim of the dangers in meeting Lun Tha - he has been ordered to leave Siam that evening. Ignoring the warning, Tuptim meets her beloved and they plot their joint escape from the country. Anna, although loyal to the King, remembers what it was like to be young and in love - she condones their flight. The evening’s entertainment is in the form of a theater piece depicting the story of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. When the King is informed that Tuptim is missing from the palace, Anna pleads with him not to be too harsh on her if she is caught. Her words fall on deaf ears, as they become lost in their thoughts of what it would be like if they were a young couple on the dance floor. The Kralahome announces that Tuptim has been found. She is brought before the King, who, despite his sense of duty and tradition, cannot bring himself to whip her. But his intentions and words are enough for Anna - she will sail from Siam immediately. As she prepares to depart, Lady Thiang brings her news that the King is very ill ...