Something Wonderful! Elena Shaddow to Lead the National Tour of THE KING AND I

It was announced today that Elena Shaddow will join the Lincoln Center Theater production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's THE KING AND I as Anna Leonowens, beginning March 20 in Tempe, AZ.

Shaddow will join a company including Jose Llana as the King of Siam, with Joan Almedilla as Lady Thiang, Brian Rivera as Kralahome, Q Lim as Tuptim, Kavin Panmeechao as Lun Tha, Charlie Oh as Prince Chulalongkorn, Rhyees Stump as Louis Leonowens and Baylen Thomas as Captain Orton/Sir Edward Ramsey.

Director Bartlett Sher had this to say about Elena Shaddow: "I have worked with Elena for many years, going back to The Light in the Piazza and The Bridges of Madison County. I don't think there is anyone in the American Theater who possesses her rare combination of qualities: a soaring, pure voice, extraordinary acting skill, all held together by uncommon grace. She genuinely lights up the stage. And she is almost born to the part of Anna in The King and I. She has power, a strong will, and immense kindness. And she can break your heart onstage. She is all heart, and a perfect voice."

About Jose Llana, Sher said: "Jose was so superb on Broadway in The King and I that I begged him to join us on the tour and l feel we are incredibly lucky to have him. He brings such joy and virility and strength to the King. And he is one of Broadway's great talents."

The ensemble includes Madeline Trumble, LaMae Caparas, Andrew Cheng, Kristen Choi, Max B. Ehrlich, Marie Gutierrez, Rie Hatanaka, Marina Kondo, Darren Lee, Stephanie Lo, Michael Lomeka, Saki Masuda, Nobutaka Mochimaru, Yuki Ozeki, Kevin Schuering, Julius Sermonia, Marcus Shane, Alicia Shumway, Ryan Stout, Michiko Takemasa and Jeoffrey Watson, with Kayla Paige Amistad, Jaden D. Amistad, Sydney Chan, Spencer Donovan Jones, Noah Toledo, CJ Uy and Keira Belle Young as the Royal Children.

THE KING AND I, directed by Tony Award® winner Bartlett Sher, won four 2015 Tony Awards® including Best Revival of a Musical. Hailed as "first-rate, sumptuous" (The New York Times) and "too beautiful to miss" (New York Magazine), the production played 538 performances on Broadway at the Vivian Beaumont Theater.

Bartlett Sher is reunited with the award-winning creative team from Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific and The Light in the Piazza. THE KING AND I has music direction by Ted Sperling, sets by Michael Yeargan, costumes by Catherine Zuber (Tony Award® winner for THE KING AND I), lighting by Donald Holder, sound by Scott Lehrer and casting by Telsey + Company/Abbie Brady-Dalton, CSA. THE KING AND I features choreography by Christopher Gattelli based on the original choreography by Jerome Robbins.

One of Rodgers & Hammerstein's finest works, THE KING AND I boasts a score that features such beloved classics as "Getting To Know You," "Hello, Young Lovers," "Shall We Dance," "I Have Dreamed" and "Something Wonderful." Set in 1860's 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.

UPCOMING TOUR DATES

Tucson, AZ March 13-18, 2018

Tempe, AZ March 20-25, 2018

Hershey, PA April 3-8, 2018

Cincinnati, OH April 10-22, 2018

Columbus, OH April 24-29, 2018

Schenectady, NY May 1-6, 2018

Detroit, MI May 8-13, 2018

Worcester, MA May 15-20, 2018

Grand Rapids, MI June 5-10, 2018

Kansas City, MO June 12-17, 2018

Albuquerque, NM June 20-24, 2018

San Diego, CA June 26-July 1, 2018

Toronto, ON July 10-August 12, 2018

For more information, please visit www.thekinganditour.com, or on Facebook and Twitter.

Elena Shaddow (Anna Leonowens). Broadway: Ottilie in The Visit, Anne in La Cage aux Folles, Bridges, The Woman in White, Fiddler..., Nine, Sweet Smell..., and Les Misérables. London: Magnolia in Showboat at the Royal Albert Hall. National Tour: Clara Johnson in The Light in the Piazza. NYC: Fanny in Fanny at City Center Encores!, The Bacchae at The Public. Favorite Regional: Mary in Mary Poppins (Papermill), Lilly in Carnival (Papermill) Francesca Johnson in The Bridges of Madison County (Williamstown), Olivia in Twelfth Night (Shakespeare TNJ). Concerts: Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady in Concert with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and North Carolina Symphony through UIAPresents. Recent TV: Conviction, Person of Interest, Time After Time, Sister Sophia in NBC's The Sound of Music Live!. elenashaddow.com

Jose Llana (King of Siam) returns to the role of the King of Siam after two starring engagements in the Tony-winning Lincoln Center Theater revival. Broadway: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Drama Desk Award), Wonderland, Flower Drum Song,Rent, Street Corner Symphony and the 1996 Revival of The King and I (Lun Tha). Off-Broadway: Twelfth Night, Here Lies Love (Lortel nom.), Falling For Eve, On the Town and Saturn Returns. Regional: Poster Boy, Oliver!, Martin Guerre, Ballad of Little Jo (Jefferson nom.) and Candide (Barrymore nom.). TV/Film: Sex and the City and Hitch. Albums: VIVA Philippines label and Altitude based on his concert for Lincoln Center's American Songbook series. www.josellana.com @josellana

Bartlett Sher (Director). Resident Director at Lincoln Center Theater since 2009, where he is currently directing My Fair Lady. LCT: Oslo (2017 Tony Award for Best Play; also London), The King and I, Golden Boy, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Awake and Sing!, The Light in the Piazza (Tony nominations); South Pacific (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics awards; also London, Australia); Blood and Gifts; Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (also London). Broadway: Fiddler on the Roof. The Bridges of Madison County. Off-Broadway:Prayer for My Enemy (Playwrights Horizons), Waste (Best Play Obie Award), Cymbeline (Callaway Award, also Royal Shakespeare Company), Don Juan, Pericles (TFANA, BAM). Artistic director of Seattle's Intiman Theatre (2000-2009). Previously company director for the Guthrie Theater and associate artistic director at Hartford Stage. Opera: Roméo et Juliette (Salzburg, Milan, Chicago, Metropolitan Opera); Faust (Baden Baden); Two Boys (ENO, Metropolitan Opera); Otello, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Le Comte Ory, L'Elisir d'Amore (Metropolitan Opera); Mourning Becomes Electra (Seattle Opera, New York City Opera). Upcoming productions include the West end production of The King and I, Adam Guettel's new musical Millions, and the Broadway premiere of Aaron Sorkin's adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird.