Rogers & Hammerstein’s The King and I has returned to the Regent Theatre in Stoke On Trent after a 10 year hiatus, and you could tell it had been missed as the auditorium was packed! It’s always been one of my Mum Christine’s favourite musicals, and over the years I saw bits of it in passing, but never really took the time to sit and watch it.
It is based on Margaret Landon’s novel Anna & The King Of Siam (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, Governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in the early 1860s.
The musical's plot revolves around the experiences of Anna, a British schoolteacher who is hired as part of the King's drive to modernize his country. The relationship between the King and Anna is filled with conflict as well as a love to which neither of them can admit.
Starring the West End’s Annalene Beechey and Broadways Darren Lee, The King and I is renowned as arguably the greatest musical from the golden age of musicals – with one of the finest scores ever written including “Whistle a Happy Tune” and “Shall We Dance”.
This gloriously lavish production is brought to the stage by an internationally renowned creative team under Tony Award-winning director Bartlett Sher (South Pacific / My Fair Lady / To Kill a Mockingbird) and features a world-class company of West End and Broadway performers and musicians.
The creative team should be proud as the set is incredible, managing to replicate all of the pomp and luxury that you would expect to see within a palace. And of course, no musical is a true musical without a full orchestra performing the score, and they truly took us back to the golden years of the 50’s, with the music sounding exactly like it would in an original musical of the time.
Beechey & Lee had real chemistry and bounced off each other to make their performance believable. Beechey’s dialect & beautiful voice was simply incredible, so much so that Julie Andrews would have been impressed!
There was so much talent on the
stage that it was hard not to feel so unbelievably privileged to bear witness to it, and the children in the cast were superb.
Was it my kind of story? Probably not, but as a production, it was one of the best I’ve seen, and it was received with rapturous applause when the curtain fell.
My Verdict: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The King and I is playing at the Regent Theatre NOW but ONLY until Saturday 3rd June, so get those tickets booked now and don’t miss your chance to see this incredible musical! Tickets are on sale from just £13.00 and are available from the Box Office, by calling 0844 871 7649 or visiting www.atgtickets.com/stoke