Theater Review—

Beautiful, Entertaining ‘King And I’ At Richter

By Julie Stern

DANBURY — Musicals at Richter has chosen to end its 2006 season with a rousing performance of the Rodgers and Hammerstein favorite, The King and I.  This is the story of Mrs Anna Leonowens, a Welsh widow who went to Siam in the 1860s to support herself and her young son by becoming the court tutor to the seventy-odd children of the king (who had as many wives as he liked).

Anna is poor, but courageous and stubborn about what she believes is right. The king is determined to use education to bring his people into the modern age, but he is also proud and arrogant, an absolute monarch who is used to having his own way.

Their characters make conflict inevitable, as they argue over everything from slavery and women’s rights to the king’s reluctance to honor his promise to provide Anna with a house of her own, rather than have her live in the palace.

Like many Rodgers and Hammerstein shows The King and I combines lovely songs with a very specific locale (cowboys for Oklahoma!, New England fishermen for Carousel). In this case it is the very exotic kingdom of Siam. Beautiful costumes and an almost magical setting are used to form a series of tableaux and processions, such as “the march of the Siamese children” and the play within a play, “The Little House of Uncle Tom,” wherein Anna’s students put on their own version of Uncle Tom’s Cabin in order to entertain a visiting British diplomat.

But the show is more than pageantry. Damian Long, a very strong actor, gives such a rich and nuanced performance as the kingthat the show becomes a series of highly dramatic short scenes. It becomes a play about inner struggles as the King wrestles with his desire to do the right thing, his lack of certainty about things which had once seemed written in stone, his yearning not to be thought a barbarian, even as he is steeped in barbaric customs and practices, and his inability to ask for the help he needs.

Priscilla Squiers matches him well in the role of Anna. She disapproves of slavery and she abhors the servility with which the people are expected to treat their sovereign, but her love for the children expands into a love for the country as a whole; her very complex relationship with the king turns into a deepening friendship and respect.

There are lots of children in this show and they look and act cute. Kieran Minor and Sammy Panzarino stand out as Anna’s son Louis and the king’s heir, Prince Chululonghorn.

There are also some fine voices to carry the memorable songs — “Whenever I feel afraid” (I whistle a happy tune…), “Getting to Know You,” “Hello Young Lovers,” “We Speak in the Shadows” and “Shall We Dance” — all of which are memorable enough to be recognized on the supermarket Muzak track.

In addition to Anna and the king, and Louis and the prince, Betsy Simpson and Robert Sniffin sing a beautiful duet as the doomed lovers Tuptim and Lun Tha. Erin Volpintesta also does a good job as the king’s number one wife, Lady Thiang, who loves him enough to beg Anna to help him, when he is too proud to ask.

More than a decorative piece of fluff, this show has much to say about power and good leadership –an issue that resonates in our world today – and also offers insights into slavery and inequality. The king learns much from Anna, and she learns much about survival from the women of Siam.

In short, the play is entertaining, good to look at and listen to, and you can go home humming and thinking at the same time.

(Performances continue Friday through Sunday evenings through August 19 at 8:30 pm; a bonus show – on Thursday, August 17 – has also been added. Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 seniors, and $12 for students.

Contact Musicals at Richter at 748-6873 for reservations. Musicals at Richter is at 100 Aunt Hack Road in Danbury.)