UPDATE: Ken Watanabe Will Return to THE KING & I on 3/17 After Surgery Recovery

As BroadwayWorld reported earlier this week, Ken Watanabe's return to THE KING AND I has been postponed after recently undergoing endoscopic surgery for stomach cancer in Japan. Now we've confirmed with a Lincoln Center representative that he will officially return to THE KING AND I on Thursday, March 17. Hoon Lee, who is currently playing the King of Siam, will play his final performance on Wednesday, March 16.

Watanabe was originally to begin performances on Tuesday, March 1. He is still set to appear through Sunday April 17th.

Ken Wanatabe made his American stage debut in The King and I, garnering a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance. 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, Godzilla, and Sea of Trees.

Winner of four 2015 Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical, Lincoln Center Theater's production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's The King and I boasts a cast of 51 starring Kelli O'Hara (Tony Award winner - Best Actress in a Musical) as Anna Leonowens and featuring Ruthie Ann Miles (Tony Award winner - Best Featured Actress in a Musical) as Lady Thiang, Ashley Park (as Tuptim), Conrad Ricamora (as Lun Tha), Edward Baker-Duly (as Sir Edward Ramsey), Jon Viktor Corpuz (as Prince Chulalongkorn), Paul Nakauchi (as Kralahome), Marc Oka (as Phra Alack), Rocco Sisto (as Captain Orton), and Nicky Torchia (as Louis).