Photo Flash: First Look at Michele Ragusa and More in Maltz Jupiter Theatre's THE KING AND I

Get ready to be enchanted by the magic of The King and I, featuring a large-scale musical like you've never seen it before! Come along on a journey to Siam as the Tony Award-winning masterpiece The King and I bursts onto the Maltz Jupiter Theatre's stage, now through April 6, complete with imaginative scenic design, lavish costumes and a lush score of classics, including "Getting to Know You," "Hello Young Lovers" and many more. This Broadway phenomenon will leave you whistling a happy tune! Scroll down for a first look at the cast in action!

The fifth musical by the powerhouse team of composer Richard Rodgers and dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II, The King and I has been an instant hit since its opening on Broadway in 1951. It won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and has had many tours and revivals since then--including a 1996 Broadway revival, which also earned five Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical. The 1956 film version was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won five.

This is your chance to see why millions of people around the world continue to fall in love with the story of cultured British schoolteacher Anna Leonowens in 19th century Siam and the imperialist King. The musical is based on the writings of the real Anna, who served as governess to the King's children in the 1860s.

"In recent years, the Maltz Jupiter Theatre has been recognized for reinventing American classics as if theatergoers are seeing them for the first time," Andrew Kato, producing artistic director, said. "As she has done for us before, director and choreographer Marcia Milgrom Dodge is again using her creative brilliance to re-imagine the production using large-scale shadow puppetry and many exciting new design elements."

A Tony Award nominee, Milgrom Dodge most recently headed the Theatre's critically-acclaimed productions of Hello, Dolly! (Carbonell Award for Best Director) and Anything Goes (Carbonell Award for Best Choreography), as well as the Theatre's production of Master Class. The design team also features costume design by Leon Wiebers, scenic design by Narelle Sissons and music direction by Carbonell Award winner Helen Gregory.

Featuring 36 performers, the production stars Michele Ragusa as Anna, seen recently on Broadway in Young Frankenstein, Urinetown, Ragtime, A Class Act, Titanic and Cyrano. Wayne Hu stars as the King, recently seen in Camelot and King for a Day with The Glimmerglass Festival and La Bohème with Opera Memphis. The King and I also includes performances by 14 local children (ages 6 - 11) from Lake Worth to the Treasure Coast, cast through the Theatre's annual First Step to Stardom audition program.

Tickets for The King and I start at $52 and may be purchased by calling (561) 575-2223 or visiting www.jupitertheatre.org/shows/TheKingandI.

Photo Credit: Alicia Donelan

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