BWW Reviews: An Uneven But Effective THE KING AND I Turns On The Porchlight Audience

Last weekend was the official opening of a hardworking production of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic musical play, "The King and I," at Stage 773 courtesy of Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago. Coming simultaneously with the royal wedding goings-on in London, the show rang fascinatingly resonant with attentive audiences, watching the British Empire at its height, watching a monarch teaching the crown prince how to govern, watching royalty struggle with the balance between tradition and up-to-the-minute relevance. The timing couldn't have been more interesting. 

Unfortunately, some aspects of this impressively-sized production (18 in the cast, plus 6 additional well-schooled young children) are not so felicitous. But, on the whole, it works. Whether or not you are acquainted with the original 1951 Broadway production (which followed the similar culture-clash musical "South Pacific" in the R and H canon and starred the legendary Gertrude Lawrence in her last role), the Academy Award-winning film (with Deborah Kerr), or with major revivals, recordings and tours with the likes of Constance Towers, Julie Andrews, Donna Murphy, Marie Osmond or Mary Beth Peil--and no matter whether you love or hate the long shadow Yul Brynner cast over the role of The King for most of his professional life--you will become engrossed in and moved by this real-life tale of a Welsh schoolteacher settling in Bangkok in the 1860s, teaching the Siamese king's many children and multiple wives some Western ways and English English, until she realizes that The King and she have taught each other a thing or two. And the show feels much shorter than that last sentence! 

Director L. Walter Stearns, in his last official outing with Porchlight after 12 years as Artistic Director, keeps multiple points of focus clearly mapped out. Anna and the children, Anna and the wives, Anna and her son, Anna and the courtiers, Anna and The King, The King and his intellectual curiosity, and of course the supporting couple of concubine Tuptim and her Burmese lover, Lun Tha, are among the threads that interweave successfully here. But the single strongest impression I got from the production is the thought that it may be the first one the show has ever received in which the strongest singer in the cast is playing the King! 

Wayne Hu, a singer comfortable with musical theater style who is finishing up his Master of Music degree in voice at Indiana University (one of the nation's top schools), is really impressive in his major solo, "A Puzzlement," and is a formidable physical presence in his encounters with Anna, with a disobedient slave and with his own internal struggles. He is on the verge of a successful career indeed, and he may be a little young for the role, but no matter, for so is Brianna Borger as Mrs. Anna (even though she has played the role several times before, and the program reveals her to be 30). Her experience shows, as she is solid and assured throughout, with a lovely and effective singing voice. (I do have one small quibble though--why is she belting the last notes of "Hello, Young Lovers," rather than raising her lyric head voice to a fuller, less brittle effect?) 

Jillian Anne Jocson is lovely, tenacious and smart as the gutsy Tuptim, and Eric Kaiko is ardent, if a little preppy and contemporary, as Lun Tha. The Lady Thiang of Kate Garassino is noble, husky of voice and mysterious of manner (why does she pronounce the name of her country as "see-ahm" rather than "sigh-am"?). And Karmann Bajuyo makes the somewhat thankless role of The Kralahome an earnest, hardworking and impressive prime minister. 

The teen boys in the cast do solid work, and make their reprise of "A Puzzlement" a special moment. Richard Nava may have the deepest voice of any Prince Chulalongkorn ever, but he still is able to portray him as a young boy. And Benjamin Parkhill's Louis is gangly, soft-voiced but fierce when the going gets tough. Bravo to them. 

The production's musical elements, under the direction of Eugene Dizon, are among the weaker points on display. A two-piano arrangement of the score is not an unworkable idea, but The Players weren't always together (eh, it's early in the run) and I missed Robert Russell Bennett's legendary orchestrations. Also, the endings of some numbers seemed rushed or even glossed over, rather than having time to "land" and register as dramatic as well as musical arrival points. And two of the major solos, "My Lord and Master" and "Something Wonderful," seemed to my ears to be in lower keys than they were originally. (If I'm right, I don't know whose decision that was, but I don't understand the need for it.) 

However, Dizon's musical direction reached a high point in the second act, when the ballet, "The Small House of Uncle Thomas," was unveiled to great glory--indeed, it may have been the high point of the night. Choreographer Brenda Didier has beautifully realized original choreographer Jerome Robbins's great work on this sequence, and the cast somehow pulled it off, sumptuously and emotionally. The ballet also showed off the production's multi-level scenic design by Ian Zywica to its best effect, and utilized Mac Vaughey's lighting design of heightened theatricality. Bill Morey's costumes dazzled us all night, especially the traditional Siamese gowns worn by the wives, which we are told are "historically accurate" designs by Morey that were "custom-made in Thailand specifically" for this production. They really are quite remarkable, and I can't imagine what they must have cost. Amazing. 

This is an entirely recognizable revival of this remarkable work of musical theater, and many fans of the Master and his second career lyricist will have a grand time. Newcomers may wonder for a while what all the fuss was about for their parents and grandparents, and it's not always dazzling to behold (as this show usually is), but by the time that famous and dangerous polka number rolls around late in the show ("Shall We Dance") the magic will have worked. Bumps notwithstanding, musical and otherwise, "The King and I" is musical theater royalty, and deserves your homage. Bring a slightly younger fan with you, and introduce this serious but family musical to yet another generation of showtune lovers. They should get to know it. 

"The King and I" runs through June 5, 2011, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm, and Saturdays and Sundays at 2:30 pm. Tickets may be purchased at 773-327-5252 or at www.stage773.com. For more information, visit www.porchlighttheatre.com.   

Photo credit: Johnny Knight  

Photos (from top): Wayne Hu as The King; Brianna Borger as Anna and Wayne Hu as The King; Erik Kaiko as Lun Tha and Jillian Jocson as Tuptim; Brianna Borger as Anna with Dylan Lainez, Tatum Pearlman and Lydia Hurrelbrink

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