All tagged Gertrude Lawrence

Musical Theatre Time Machine - Looking Back at The King and I

With the recent closing of the Lincoln Center production of The King and I, I thought it would be an appropriate tribute to this lovely production to look back on this oft-revived musical.

Rodgers and Hammerstein had just enjoyed another major success with the Pulitzer Prize-winning South Pacific and set about the find a new property for musicalization. Margaret Landon's novel Anna and the King of Siam would be their source. Based on a true story, the novel told the story of a British governess brought to the royal palace of the King of Siam to teach his wives and children in the Western philosophies and contemporary thought. The musical followed the complicated professional relationship between the monarch and his new employee (and perhaps friend), and their struggle to find a middle ground where tradition and change could coexist.

The King and I... and I

When I was a mere preteen and just beginning my adventure with musical theatre, one of my favorite books to check out of my high school library was The Rodgers and Hammerstein Songbook. This beautiful, hardbound edition sat on the very top-shelf of the school library and required a less-than-enthused librarian to climb a ladder to get it for me. Since I was the only one to check it out over a six year period, it might have just been easier if they had given it to me to keep. I sure wish they had.