The King and I

[Frankly Rich]

I thought I had posted already about Kelli O'Hara being named the lead in the King and I, but I can't find it. She will play Anna at the revival of the show. Previews are set for March 12, 2015 with an April 16th opening. The show will be at the Vivian Beaumont Theater and is a Lincoln Center production.

Yesterday it was announced that Ken Watanabe, a movie actor, will play the King. I'm sure that the Thais will be thrilled to be ruled by a Japanese man. I know nothing of Watanabe, except that he is not a stage actor. Can he sing? Has he any charisma? Does he have stage presence? Has he read Moss Hart's autobiography?

 

This will be the fourth revival of The King and I, which premiered in 1951. The last revival was in 1996.

 

Watanabe has a net worth of $20 million. O'Hara's net worth is unknown.

[bostonman]

Yesterday it was announced that Ken Watanabe, a movie actor, will play the King. I'm sure that the Thais will be thrilled to be ruled by a Japanese man. I know nothing of Watanabe, except that he is not a stage actor. Can he sing?

 

The press release for the casting announcement gives his bio as:

 

KEN WATANABE will make his American stage debut in The King and I. His Japanese theatre credits include Dialogue with Horowitz, Hamlet, Shitayamannen-cho monogatari, The Lion in Winter and The Royal Hunt of the Sun. For his work in film, Watanabe received Oscar, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild award nominations for The Last Samurai. His motion picture credits also include Inception, Letters from Iwo Jima, Memoirs of a Geisha, Batman Begins and Godzilla. Watanabe is currently preparing to shoot Gus Van Sant’s Sea of Trees and Martin Scorsese’s Silence.

 

So he does have stage experience.

 

As far as singing goes, the King is not principally a singing role. It would, of course, be great if he could really hit the pitches in "Puzzlement" rather than speak-singing the whole thing, but I've heard performances that tend more towards the latter, and it still works. It's not a song (or a role) written for a singer singer. And his parts in "Song Of The King" and "Shall We Dance" are often less sung as well. To contrast, I trust O'Hara will sing Anna's songs just fine, and as long as the Tuptim and Lun Tha are blessed with strong lyrical voices, the score will be well-served. (IMO their Act II duet "I Have Dreamed" is one of R&H's best songs - particularly Rodgers' gift here with melody and harmonization - astounding when you realize the climactic section of the song ["In these dreams I've loved you so" etc] is based on nothing but scales. But oh, what magnificent scales they are!)

[+ quoththeraven]

Bostonman beat me to Watanabe's stage credits. As for his ethnicity: given availability and marquee status, at least he's Asian. He has charisma to spare, and I not infrequently see photos of him cross my Tumblr dash.

 

My father's parents emigrated here from Korea, and Asian representation in film, movies, and the stage is important to me. In my other haunts on the internet, I regularly complain about stereotyping of Asian actors and the prejudice against casting them (or even thinking of them) as romantic leads. When a production is lauded for non-traditional casting, it's never (that I know of) because an Asian-American or Asian actor's been cast. It's because an actor of African descent (whether American, British, or African) has been cast.

 

I'm reasonably familiar with the show, as my daughter was in a youth theater version of it when she was younger. It's a great musical. (And yes, Tuptim and Lun Tha are difficult roles to sing and cast.)

[Frankly Rich]

Thanks for the further information. The release I read apparently discounted his foreign stage experience. Since I am married to an Asian man, I share quoththeraven's concerns about opportunities for the same.

 

I first saw the show at the National Theater in Singapore after having just left Thailand, so it made a mark on me. Of course, the show is banned in Thailand.

[bostonman]

And yes, Tuptim and Lun Tha are difficult roles to sing and cast.

 

Actually, I wouldn't say they're unduly difficult - they just have to be well-trained singers as opposed to "actors who sing." Lun Tha is not a very well-drawn character - he doesn't get a lot of stage time and there isn't much arc. Tuptim is a fantastic role, IMO - and she's part of two other moments in the show that never fail to send shivers up my spine - one being the "surprise" vocal ending of "My Lord And Master" (Rodgers tended not to give his singers extreme high notes all that often, so when he does, as in when Tuptim sings "I love an-O-ther man" it's a huge payoff) and the other being her daring speech near the end of the "Uncle Thomas" ballet, and how she has no choice but to shut herself up when the King reacts. Chilling.

 

Though my mistake in also not mentioning Lady Thiang, who has one of the other brilliant songs in the score, "Something Wonderful."

[+ quoththeraven]

Actually, I wouldn't say they're unduly difficult - they just have to be well-trained singers as opposed to "actors who sing." Lun Tha is not a very well-drawn character - he doesn't get a lot of stage time and there isn't much arc. Tuptim is a fantastic role, IMO - and she's part of two other moments in the show that never fail to send shivers up my spine - one being the "surprise" vocal ending of "My Lord And Master" (Rodgers tended not to give his singers extreme high notes all that often, so when he does, as in when Tuptim sings "I love an-O-ther man" it's a huge payoff) and the other being her daring speech near the end of the "Uncle Thomas" ballet, and how she has no choice but to shut herself up when the King reacts. Chilling.

 

Though my mistake in also not mentioning Lady Thiang, who has one of the other brilliant songs in the score, "Something Wonderful."

 

Let's put it this way: they were hard to sing and cast in a youth theatre context. They got kids with good voices and reasonable acting ability, but the girl was significantly taller and older-looking than the guy.

[foxy]

I was told several years ago when in Thailand that the musical and the movie were never allowed to be shown or performed in Thailand because the king was portrayed as a barbarian. I'm not sure if that ban was ever lifted.

[bostonman]

I was told several years ago when in Thailand that the musical and the movie were never allowed to be shown or performed in Thailand because the king was portrayed as a barbarian. I'm not sure if that ban was ever lifted.

 

The ban is still in place. They also banned the more recent Jodie Foster/Chow Yun-Fat remake of Anna And The King Of Siam, which was hoping to film on location, but the request was denied.

[Frankly Rich]

Didn't I say above that the show is banned in Thailand?

[+ Gar1eth]

Yesterday it was announced that Ken Watanabe, a movie actor, will play the King. I know nothing of Watanabe,except that he is not a stage actor. Can he sing? Has he any charisma? Does he have stage presence? Has he read Moss Hart's autobiography?

 

 

I guess you will now have the chance for Getting to know him. Getting to know all about him!!

 

Gman

 

PS I couldn't resist.

[Diverdan]

Looking forward to comments from our NYC theater posters after they have seen the show. I hope to get to NYC later this summer or early fall.

[actor61]

Holy cow, another damn revival! Do we really need it? We've had "Raisin in the Sun", "Gypsy" and now "King and I" far too many times. I just feel like B'way is doing nothing but catering to tourists anymore. Can another production of "Sound of Music" be far behind? Where are the original plays and musicals?

[Frankly Rich]

I don't know about Sound of Music, but Fiddler on the Roof is coming. I, too, wish they would come up with some new stuff, say, oh, well, um, Holler If You Hear Me? That'd be a big hit!

[bostonman]

From things I've heard, Holler If You Hear Me (which is not a new score either, of course, just a new venue for the songs) may not be around much longer. I'm not happy about any show folding like that, but I'm not sure this one lived up to the hopes people had for it.

 

I'm not so sour about revivals - as long as they are done well and with care for the material. I think every generation should have a chance to see the classics done big. Broadway hasn't mounted The King And I in almost 20 years. And I'm assuming this production will get the same musical care that recent revivals like South Pacific have had - with full orchestra, etc. It's one of the best R&H shows, IMO, and it's worth doing. And the last production of Fiddler, a decade ago, didn't do all that well - if it is coming back next season, hopefully it will be handled better.

 

Frankly Rich and Actor61 - you say you wish they'd come up with new stuff - there were a number of new musicals this year, and I think two in particular have tremendous scores - the Tony-winning Gentlemen's Guide To Love and Murder, and the snubbed Bridges of Madison County. We also have the still-running If/Then, which takes some real risks in storytelling, with a score from the team that brought us the moving Next To Normal a few seasons ago. Coming up this season we already have two very promising shows - Sting's musical The Last Ship, which has been getting a lot of positive, encouraging press as it's started its Chicago tryout, and we have Jason Robert Brown getting back in the ring right away (after Madison County) with Honeymoon in Vegas.

 

You know, if we actually invest in getting to KNOW and SUPPORT the new stuff that's out there, it could even do better. I think one of the reasons we don't see even more successful new work is that we actually tend to shun the new stuff even when we say we want it. Every time a critic says the score to a show is "unmemorable," it's a nail in the coffin for that composer's NEXT show, let alone the current one, and all it says is that the critic wants the OLD stuff, not the NEW stuff. (Why do you think we get so many "jukebox" shows? Because you can go to see the show for the first time and GO IN humming the score, lol.)

 

So, I do hope you both saw all those new musicals this past season, and that you will see the ones coming up. Because if you didn't, I don't think you have any right to complain that we don't have new shows out there, when what you mean to say is you haven't taken the time to support the new shows with your attendance.

[+ WilliamM]

I would add last season's "Far from Heaven" with Kelli O'Hara and Steve Pasquale to your list.

 

We agree on "Bridges of Madison County" for which Jason Robert Brown received two 2014 Tonys for lyrics/music and orchestration.

 

Also, the 1943 hit "One Touch of Venus" finally has a complete album starring Melissa Errico and, most important, all of Kurt Weill's music (orchestred by Weill). Errico did "One Touch of Venus" for Encores! at City Center in New York about a decade again. The album was recorded around then, and was finally released in the last six months by Jay Records (also available on ITunes)..

[Frankly Rich]

Good post, Bostonman.

[foxy]

Didn't I say above that the show is banned in Thailand?

 

You did. Sorry I missed that.

[+ Cash4Trash]

Heathers the musical is supposed to be a very good show over at New World Stages (seeing it Saturday) and Here Lies Love is a hit with new music.

Don't forget last years wonderful Natasha, Pierre And The Great Comet Of 1812 with it's very good score.

[Frankly Rich]

Thanks for all the information on shows that are new. With the huge cost of staging a Broadway musical, I am glad to see that not everyone is banking on revivals.

[bostonman]

Heathers the musical is supposed to be a very good show over at New World Stages (seeing it Saturday) and Here Lies Love is a hit with new music.

Don't forget last years wonderful Natasha, Pierre And The Great Comet Of 1812 with it's very good score.

 

Of course, we should make the distinction that these are all smaller, off-Broadway shows. Not that that matters in terms of quality - many wonderful shows have played (or started) off-Broadway, and for most of them, the smaller venues were the right fit (there's often a temptation nowadays to move wildly successful off-Broadway shows to Broadway, but that's just often not the right move, either in terms of commercial viability, or more importantly, theatre size.)

 

Speaking of musicals specifically, many composers are finding it easier and more lucrative to work off-Broadway (or regionally, not even in NYC) - the risk being that the shows don't often get the same kind of recognition. Over the last several decades, I've had the pleasure to do Boston regional premieres of some of these smaller shows, which have all been gems - shows like Doug Cohen's amazingly tuneful, very funny whodunnit No Way To Treat A Lady, the very moving, folk/country-tinged The Spitfire Grill by James Valcq and (the late) Fred Alley, the quirky Bed And Sofa by Polly Pen, Illyria, which is a smart musical adaptation of Twelfth Night by Peter Mills, and Michael John LaChiusa's challenging/surprising See What I Wanna See (an adaptation of Japanese short stories, including the one that's most famous for its film adaptation as Rashomon). And of course that's only a smattering of the great shows that have been mounted in the last few decades. And they're still writing 'em...

[MrMiniver]

What does Thais have to do with this? Is Massenet involved?

 

Ken Watanabe is a great great actor. Have you ever seen The King & I? You know the one where the character of the King doesn't have one single "real" song to sing? Just checking.

 

I'd be more concerned that the lovely Kelli O'Hara will sound like she's from Nebraska instead of Wales.

[MrMiniver]

Let's put it this way: they were hard to sing and cast in a youth theatre context. They got kids with good voices and reasonable acting ability, but the girl was significantly taller and older-looking than the guy.

 

They're probably hard to cast today than they were in the 40s and 50s when those voice types abounded on Broadway. Let's just please hope they don't cast them with "pop" voices like the ones heard on that studio recording where the Lun Tha kept singing "we keeeessss in a wheeesper" in the worst sort of pseudo jazz crooner style.

[bostonman]

Let's just please hope they don't cast them with "pop" voices like the ones heard on that studio recording where the Lun Tha kept singing "we keeeessss in a wheeesper" in the worst sort of pseudo jazz crooner style.

 

That can be an opera/classical singer problem too, though. I recently heard the webcast of the Theatre Du Chatelet's Into The Woods, which started with way too much "I weeeesh" for its own good. (I also recently worked with a young conservatory student singing "On the Street Where You Live" who sounded as if he thought Freddy was supposed to be a native Italian - all the way-open vowels, etc. There's a tendency for many classically-trained singers to sing English in a way that doesn't sound at all like English, lol.)

[MrMiniver]

That can be an opera/classical singer problem too, though. I recently heard the webcast of the Theatre Du Chatelet's Into The Woods, which started with way too much "I weeeesh" for its own good. (I also recently worked with a young conservatory student singing "On the Street Where You Live" who sounded as if he thought Freddy was supposed to be a native Italian - all the way-open vowels, etc. There's a tendency for many classically-trained singers to sing English in a way that doesn't sound at all like English, lol.)

 

Except there it sounds like a pronunciation problem with a foreigner, not an opera problem. I looked it up. This Lun Tha was Peabo Bryson -- an American singer who should know how to pronounce English words but he has that "pop" kind of voice. It's absolutely atrocious.

 

American classically trained singers should sing English like English. If they don't, there is something seriously wrong with their training.

 

The worst example from a cast recording is Jose Carreras in the West Side Story recording under Bernstein. My god, it was simply awful.

[foxy]

And Bernstein kept torturing him for it. Truly painful to watch. Bernstein came off as a sadist.