Monday, May 18
All the king’s women
Perseverance and enthusiasm make Anna Leonowens the perfect
musical theater protagonist, enabling the cast to stage the
lavish revival of "The King and I"By Cheryl KleinDaily Bruin
Senior StaffWhen Victorian widow Anna Leonowens packed her bags and
headed halfway around the world to tutor the king of Siam’s
children, she was probably not thinking about her status as a
female role model. And she certainly wouldn’t have guessed that her
biggest impact would leap yet another ocean to land squarely on
Broadway, where it would ricochet for nearly 50 years."That took
great inner strength … She had married beneath her, so she had to
support herself and this is how she’s doing it," says Marie Osmond,
who plays musical theater’s most famous governess east of the Alps
in the national tour of the Tony-winning revival. "Here’s a woman
that went to Siam alone with a son. You have to remember the time
period in which this all happened. Women didn’t do that."But Anna
did – and her blend of kindergarten teacher spunk and regal
stubbornness struck a chord first with ’40s novelist Margaret
Landon, who adapted Anna’s memoirs to create "Anna and the King of
Siam," together with Dorothy Rodgers and Dorothy Hammerstein, who
in turn pitched the story to their husbands, Richard and
Oscar.After a then-titanic $360,000 production of "The King and I"
debuted in 1951, the musical popped up in various stage and film
incarnations. The most recent does not star Yul Brynner as the
infamous dictator, but managed to garner four Tonys before making
its way to the Pantages Theatre beginning Tuesday.This staging,
too, boasts lavish period sets – models of red elephants,
glittering masks and imported garments."It’s one of the biggest
productions I’ve ever seen of the show," Osmond says. "You say to
yourself, Å’Oh, but I’ve seen "The King and I."’ Baloney! You
have not seen Å’The King and I’ until you’ve seen the
show."Production values aside, one gets the feeling that perhaps
Osmond’s own unapologetic perk – not to mention stage presence that
pulses even across phone lines at 10:30 a.m. – is equally
responsible for delivering Anna’s message of perseverance."(Osmond)
has such energy," asserts Helen Yu, who plays Lady Thiang, the
king’s first wife, and stoic mediator in her husband and Anna’s
moral battles. Yu, a trained opera singer, perhaps unknowingly
adopted some of the heroine’s techniques in pursuing the
part."Musical theater was always at the back of my mind," Yu says.
"But musical theater singing is a little different from operatic
singing, so I was questioning it a lot, but when Å’King and I’
came in, I felt like it was a calling for me. The singing style is
very similar to opera."As Yu debated auditioning, she encountered
reminders of the show at almost every turn, affirming its cultural
impact and promoting an almost eerie sense that Yu and Lady Thiang
were meant to unite."When I turned on the TV, the movie would be
playing, and when I went to the gym, magazines would be laid out
with advertisements (for auditions). At that time, the Broadway
show was on 52nd Street. And I live on 52nd street," Yu recalls.
"So I knew I had to do it, no question."Swallowing her nervousness,
Yu tried out and received a call back, though not an unconditional
one."They said, Å’You’re a little too American,’" Yu says,
attributing this to the fact that, in her zeal, she played Lady
Thiang with extreme emotion and drama. "Lady Thiang is kind of the
opposite of that. She’s very cold and very still."But the casting
director could not ignore Yu’s vocal talents, so Yu toned down her
performance and tape recorded her friends at Julliard, who had
recently emigrated from Korea, so that she could pinpoint the right
accent.With a cast that is roughly 80 percent Asian, "The King and
I" is one of the few shows that offers parts written specifically
for Asian performers. Though more and more theater productions are
casting non-race specific roles (Both Bebe Neuwirth and Jasmine Guy
have revived the character of Velma in "Chicago"; Filipina Lea
Salonga played "Les Miserables’s" French heroine Eponine; and
Whoopi Goldberg broke the gender barrier as well when she took over
for Nathan Lane in "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the
Forum.") Yu says this is only the beginning."In opera, they’re
opening up to the fact that it doesn’t matter what you look like,
as long as you have the voice type for it. But I think in musical
theater, it’s still really if you fit the role physically," Yu
says."The King and I" also bridges the generation gap, with a dozen
kids, ranging from 4 to 12, playing a fraction of the King’s 77
children. "I have an interesting perspective here because I started
out as a child performer. I was 3 years old," says Osmond, who at
age 14 starred opposite her brother in "The Donny and Marie Show."
Now Osmond works with children’s charities across the country, in
addition to raising six kids of her own. So while a night on stage
might seem a little romper roomish to some actors, Osmond relishes
the opportunity to play mother hen."I try to help the kids have fun
back stage. We also do little things on stage that the audience
never knows," Osmond says."She has this beauty mark on her left eye
which she applies with ink for the show," Yu recounts. "So because
she played a lot of jokes on us, we decided to each put a little
mole on our eye throughout the whole show. She didn’t recognize it
until the first act was nearly over.""Then she noticed it. And the
next time, she comes out with two moles on her eye, just to get
even with us."Keep in mind that this is all accomplished in a hoop
skirt that could easily envelop five or six of the king’s
children.Osmond laughs, "On opening night in New York, I drew
myself a picture of a big white skirt on a stick figure and I wrote
Å’Keep skirt distance.’ Because in rehearsal, they kept plowing
into everybody."This is something that every woman who’s played
Anna can sympathize with. Osmond’s predecessors in director
Christopher Renshaw’s production included Donna Murphy and Hayley
Mills. The latter was originally set to star in the L.A.
production, but was bogged down by bad reviews, mostly centering on
Mills’ weak vocal qualities."People have to realize that Hayley is
not a professional singer," Osmond says. "I thought Haley was
wonderful."But the show as a whole has received for the most part
glowing reviews, even from skeptics such as critic Howard Kissell,
who admitted, "I have always considered Å’The King and I’ one
of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s lesser known works. Renshaw convinced
me it’s their masterpiece."With such hummable songs as "I Whistle a
Happy Tune," "Getting to Know You" and "Something Wonderful," the
music is undeniably what allows the show to blend both comedy and
tragedy while securing its place in the musical theater canon.Yu
attempts to describe the score’s role in the production."In Korean,
it’s like when you say food needs more salt, the flavor," Yu
analogizes. "Well, that’s the music. It gives salt to the
food."THEATER: "The King and I" opens Tuesday and runs through May
31 at the Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd. Tickets range from
$27 to $55. For more information, call (213) 365-3500.