Angela Baumgardner, who plays Anna Leonowens in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The King and I, is pictured with some of the royal children of the King of Siam. (Photo/Matthew Murphy)

Pedro Ka’awaloa plays the King of Siam in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The King and I. (Photo/Matthew Murphy)

Paulina Yeung plays Tuptim in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The King and I. (Photo/Matthew Murphy)

Pedro Ka’awaloa plays the King of Siam in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The King and I. (Photo/Matthew Murphy)

THE KING AND I. The national tour of the Lincoln Center Theater production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The King and I. based on the 2015 Tony Award-winning show, is making its Portland premiere at Keller Auditorium on January 8 as part of the Broadway in Portland series.

From The Asian Reporter, V29, #01 (January 7, 2019), page 11.

The national tour of the Lincoln Center Theater production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The King and I is premiering at Portland’s Keller Auditorium on January 8 as part of the Broadway in Portland series. The play is based on the Tony Award-winning production that was featured from March 12, 2015 to June 26, 2016.

Set in 1860s Bangkok, the musical tells the story of the unconventional and tempestuous relationship that develops between the King of Siam and Anna Leonowens, a British schoolteacher whom the modernist king, in an imperialistic world, brings to Siam to teach his many wives and children. Despite her sharp wit and strong will, nothing has prepared Anna for the lessons the rich and complicated new land has to teach her — or for the powerful connection she forges with its imperious king.

One of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s finest works, The King and I boasts a score that features beloved classics such as "Getting To Know You," "I Whistle a Happy Tune," "Hello Young Lovers," "Shall We Dance," and "Something Wonderful." The production features the musical’s original 1951 orchestrations by Robert Russell Bennet with dance and incidental music arranged by Trude Rittmann.

In the words of Bartlett Sher, director of the 2015 Broadway production and the first national tour, "Great classics come back to us when we need them the most. In order to live up to the scale of its ambition, we have to go both backward and forward in time. It’s like having one foot in the past as deeply as we can, one foot in the present, and our eyes looking out as far ahead as we can to see how it resonates."

Tour director Shelley Butler said, "Now feels like the perfect time to bring forward this powerful story with its depiction of clashing cultures and its journey toward understanding. It is a great pleasure to helm the tour with a dynamic cast of 33 actors, including an array of international company members. It is an honor and a privilege to continue the vision of Bartlett Sher and the brilliant Lincoln Center Theater creative team."

In the travelling show, Angela Baumgardner plays Anna Leonowens and Pedro Ka’awaloa plays the King of Siam, with Portland native DeAnna Choi as Lady Thiang. The King and I runs January 8 to 13 at the Keller Auditorium, located at 222 S.W. Clay Street in Portland. To learn more, or to buy tickets, call 1-800-273-1530 or visit <www.broadwayinportland.com>. #KingandIMusical

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