During the weekend of April 10, the theater department’s production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The King and I delighted audiences with its portrayal of a true story of a bitter, yet funny and heartwarming relationship between two people of dramatically different cultural backgrounds.

In the musical, which takes place in the 1860s, English school teacher Anna Leonowens (played by senior Gaby Bloom) travels to Siam at the request of the King of Siam (played by junior Kiko Ilagan) to tutor his many wives and children. While Anna implements new education programs and attempts to modernize Siam, she questions the role of the King and his customs, resulting in a cultural clash between them. However, when Anna finds out that the English view the King as a barbarian, she is determined to soften his image, and they start to develop a relationship of give-and-take. The King learns the refineries and responsibilities of “modern” western civilization, while Anna comes to realize how important it is for an Oriental ruler to maintain his pride and to uphold the customs of his people. Despite the many rifts between them, Anna and the King come to respect and (to a degree) love one another. When the King dies, Anna agrees to stay to offer advice to the new ruler of Siam, the King’s son, Prince Chulalongkorn (played by 7th grader Joshua Gerstein).

Ilagan effectively portrayed the King’s impulsive and intimidating, yet sensitive personality. His ability to amplify his voice and take on a personality vastly different from his own was commendable.

“The King is the titular role; he’s a very strong character, but also impulsive, raw, and a free-spirit,” Ilagan said. “Playing the king provided me with a lot of freedom because everything about the character just shouts free-spirit—he does what he wants, orders what he wants, and even in my open-necked costume, I could just move wherever and however I wanted.”

Despite the King’s harsh rules, his impulsivity was also somewhat funny. During Anna’s first meeting with the King, she brings up President Abraham Lincoln’s dislike of slavery. The King mentions that he also doesn’t like slavery, like Lincoln, yet after this exchange, he stomps his foot, signaling his wives and his slave Tuptim (played by senior Emma Allende) to kneel. This irony drew many laughs from the audience. Additionally, the King’s extensive use of the word “etcetera,” which he used to demonstrate his great knowledge of many things and his belief in not having to detail them, was hilarious. When Anna objects to the King’s treatment of her like one of his servants, he tells her that “your head shall not be higher than mine; when I shall sit, you shall sit! When I shall kneel, you shall kneel, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera!”

The scene in which Anna teaches the King’s wives and their children on the subject of getting to know them was cute and well played. Bloom sang the song “Getting to Know You” while shaking the children’s hands and dancing with the wives.

“The scene in which I sing ‘Getting to Know You’ was one of my favorite scenes because I love little kids and performing with them was a great experience,” Bloom said.

Papin agrees.

“My favorite part was working with children and incorporating the little kids into the show,” Papin said. “Some of them had never been on the stage before so as a first experience, I wanted it to be fun and memorable.”

The singing in the musical was fantastic. Bloom’s singing, as well as sophomore Saumya Sao (who plays Lady Thiang, the head wife of the King) and Allende’s singing, was skillful. All of them were able to reach high vocal ranges and sing with much emotion. Some of the best songs in the musical include “I Whistle a Happy Tune,” (sung by Bloom) which serves as the theme song throughout the musical, as well as “My Lord and Master” (sung by Allende), “Something Wonderful” (sung by Sao), and “Shall We Dance” (sung by both Bloom and Ilagan).

However, the dancing during the show was a little shaky.

“Ironically, the ‘Getting to Know You’ scene was also one of my least favorite parts because I was always nervous that I would trample while dancing,” Bloom said.

In the “Small House of Uncle Thomas” play (based on the novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe), presented to the English by the Siamese people in a Siamese ballet-inspired dance, the dancing also could have used a little more practice. Some of the dancers seemed unsteady. Despite its unsteadiness, the dancing was unique and put a spin on traditional classical ballet.

Finally, the dramatic change in emotion in one of the last scenes was portrayed well by the cast. In the scene, Anna and the King energetically dance with each other but are then interrupted by the Kralahome, who informs the King that Tuptim (who had run away) has been captured, inciting the King to punish Tuptim.

“I like the scene directly after the ballet which includes [the song] ‘Shall We Dance’ and the almost beating of Tuptim because there’s so much range during the scene—it goes from light and carefree to ‘Oh God, I’m about to whip somebody,’” Ilagan said. “I like the dynamic, and I think it’s interesting to watch.”

The actors and actresses enjoyed working together, but can all agree that there was difficulty in dealing with some aspects of the play. According to a few members of the cast, their least favorite part of the musical was all the kneeling that they had to do to the King.

“Whenever we were around the king, we always had to kneel, and it hurt really badly after a while,” Sao said.

But there were more enjoyable moments during the show and the rehearsals. Papin reveals that one of the most exciting parts about directing the play was watching the cast grow and improve.

“Once they (the cast members) got their costumes, they started moving differently and feeling differently, and it was really exciting to watch them grow every single night,” Papin said.

In general, the musical was a hit among audiences, and the actors and actresses should be proud of themselves for taking on challenging, yet entertaining roles.