Interview: Anthony Chan of THE KING AND I at The Bushnell
By: Joseph Harrison May. 20, 2017
BWW: Thanks so much for taking the time to talk with me today. We are really looking forward to THE KING AND I in Hartford!
Anthony Chan: I am really excited to start back our third leg in Hartford!
Can you start by telling us a little bit about how you got started in the theatre?
I did theatre as an extra-curricular activity in high school so my mom could pick me up from school later. I never really thought that I wanted to get into a career with it. I stayed home for college and did the whole regional theatre thing around the area. I transferred to the University of California Irvine as a Chemistry major and was on the track to become a forensic chemist. There happened to be this program at UCI called the New York satellite program where they send 30 students to New York to live for a month. I did the program and while we were there we studied acting, singing, dance and were also required to go on some auditions. I happened to be in a master class with Dale Brown who was casting the ANYTHING GOES national tour at the time. I did a Cole Porter song, miraculously, and he called me back and cast me. So, I took a year off from school to do the tour and when I got back to school, I finished my drama degree and decided to move back to New York. When I got back to NY I auditioned for THE KING AND I and somehow ended up here!
THE KING AND I is a classic, but I am sure there are some who have not been exposed to it before. How would you describe the show to someone not familiar with the production?
THE KING AND I is a classic East meets West musical set in 1862 that has everything you would want in a classic musical. It has beautiful love ballads and lots of elegant dancing. We have a twenty minute ballet number that is absolutely jaw dropping. The talent on the stage is beyond anything I have ever seen. It has thought provoking material when it comes to the modernization of Siam. It has many laughs and tears too. We have amazing stars in Jose Llana and Laura Michelle Kelley driving the show as well.
And with a classic like this show, there is always the opportunity to reimagine and refresh. How do you think that has been done in this production? So, kind of the opposite question - for those who are familiar, what's new/fresh? What can audiences expect?
Bartlett Sher, our director has really done a great job with the direction of this show. It is a little darker than most Rodgers and Hammerstein shows in general, and prodictions of THE KING AND I specifically. He has delved into the politics of the show and brought that out. It is not just a specatacle but it is very educational as well. There are parts that were not in the original Broadway production that Bart has been able to add back in. A lot of the scenes have a deeper meaning, and the way the characters interact with each other has a lot more familial value. Throughout the show you are on the age of your seat, even if you know what is going to happen.
Can you tell us a little bit about your character, Prince Chulalongkorn. What do you like the most about the role?
Prince Chulalongkorn is the first son of the king and heir to the throne. He is a stubborn and curious teenager who is forced to grow up quickly throughout the show. He loves to learn and wants to know everything before he is crowned. When Mrs. Anna enters Siam and starts teaching her western ways, it throws him for a loop and makes him question everything he has ever learned and how he should rule Siam when he becomes king. That is one of my favorite things about playing Prince Chulalongkorn. Every night I get to play this huge arc, with him starting a stubborn teenager but by the end he is a man who is able to rule a country. And that change is especially timely today - kids today have the opportunity to change the world and that comes through in Prince Chulalongkorn.
THE KING AND I is a favorite for so many theatergoers. Why do you think that is?
I think it is because it is such an empowering musical for women. It's a show about Mrs. Anna who wants to teach, and Lady Thiang, who is the wife of the king, who steps back and watches but loves the king no matter what, and Tuptim as well, who is a girl running from the system and wants to change things. That draws people into the show. Not many classic pieces set the tone for how women can grow and step up to be more than what was the common thought back when the show was written. I think that is what makes people love this piece.
I know there are a lot of young performers in your show. That has to be a lot of fun and sometimes a challenge. What's it been like working with the kids?
I work with them closely, because I am one of them! They bring so much joy to everyone backstage. They all have their stuffed animals with them constantly. But they are really professional on stage. It is fascinating how these kids can turn a switch and be sitting still on stage and doing the things the rest of the cast is doing. They bring a lot of happiness. The show is very deep and emotional, but having these kids definitely uplifts everyone.
Other than this role, what has been your favorite role to play?
My favorite role that I have played is Princeton in AVENUE Q. Puppetry is not something I am used to, and that was the first time I was exposed to it. Like Chula I like to challenge myself in this craft and adding an element like a puppet and having to project myself onto a different kind of medium made it more satisfying. The role itself is one that has to grow up and figure out his life - kind of like Prince Chulalongkorn.
What do you look forward to the most before you step out on stage each night?
Joan Almedilla, who plays Lady Thiang, sings the wonderful love song "Something Wonderful". I listen to it every night over the intercom, and usually stop what I am doing and listen. The way she drives the song is amazing. She turns a song that basically says she loves the king regardless of what he does and he is more than he is, and to have her tell the story is one of my favorite parts of the entire show. It brings down the house every night.
What would you say are the best and most difficult parts about touring with a show like this?
I love to travel, so being able to do what I love and get to see parts of the country I have never been to before is great. I have never been to Hartford before, so I am excited about that. Touring with this company is so great. It is such a familial environment. Half the cast is from the original Broadway production and half are new, so I thought there was going to be a divide, but everyone immediately connected and truly does love each other. The hardest part of touring is being away from my dog and my family. I jumped from school straight to New York and then touring, so it can be hard to not be home.
So thinking toward the future, do you have a dream role that you would one day like to play?
Sticking with THE KING AND I, I would love to graduate to Lun Tha at some point, to sing the love ballads. After that, further down the line, it would be great to do either the Kralahome or the King. This show really means a lot to me, how it pushed my career so it would be great to stick with it.
Do you have any advice for other young performers looking to make it into professional theatre?
I tell people to go for it. Never take rejection as a final answer. If you put yourself out there people respect that. The theatre world is hard, but as long as it is what you love to do and it makes you happy, that is what you have to go for. Don't let other people bring you down. At the end of the day it is how you feel and how you went for it.
Anything else you would like our readers to know about the show?
I would just say come to the show! It is beautiful!
THE KING AND I runs at the Bushnell Theatre in Hartford, CT May 30 - June 4. Performances are Tuesday through Thursday at 7:30 p.m.; Friday at 8:00 p.m.; Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.; and Sunday at 1:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available online at www.bushnell.org, by phone at 860-987-5900 , or at The Bushnell box office, 166 Capitol Avenue, Hartford.
Top Photo: Anthony Chan
Bottom Photo: Jose Llana and Laura Michelle Kelly in Rodgers & Hammerstein's The King and I. Photo by Matthew Murphy
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