“The King and I” production’s messages still timely today
Broadway Grand Rapids has brought to DeVos Hall one of the musical greats. Dated though it is, the messages of strong women and the dangers of misogyny are as timely as ever.
“The girl lay insensible until physicians restored her to consciousness, and then the torture resumed.”
— Margaret Landon, “Anna and the King of Siam”
Any society in which a girl is restored to consciousness so as to be further tortured has laid bare its feelings toward women. That Anna Leonowens, a 19th century widow, traveled with her young son to such a society, lays bare something else: remarkable optimism, and a warrior’s heart.
“It was a fairly treacherous situation,” Elena Shaddow says. Shaddow plays the titular character in the touring production of “The King and I,” the 1951 musical inspired by Landon’s memoir. It’s now playing at DeVos Performance Hall, brought to Grand Rapids thanks to Broadway Grand Rapids through June 10.
Her Anna is sentimental but practical, principled, and strong — mentally as well as physically strong; not everyone can dance in a 45 pound dress. On June 5, Shaddow played her so well that Deborah Kerr’s ghost gave up and moved on to the next plane.
“Getting to Know You” and “Shall We Dance” are such established standards that they can almost no longer feel new; one of Shaddow’s triumphs was to breathe new air into them, reminding the audience of why they’ve lasted.
Jose Llana brought humor and broad physicality to his role, consistently making the audience laugh. That humor made his moments of pathos and rage even more striking, by contrast.
Still, despite sharing the title, he left less of an impression than Joan Almedilla’s Lady Thiang, the king’s head wife, who maintains her dignity in difficult circumstances, or Q Lim’s Tuptim, the concubine who keeps faith not with the king but the man she loves. These two roles receive real focus in this production, reminding us that the king, for all his charm, has unclean hands.
The production is wonderful, and never more so than in the scene depicting “The Small House of Uncle Thomas,” a Siamese version of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” It manages to be funny, moving, and beautiful all at once; in fact, it may be the finest thing I have ever seen on the stage.
For all that, is it needed? Echoing Hamlet’s play within a play, it provides a way to accuse the king by proxy; Tuptim’s speech at the end resonates powerfully. There are parallels between slave Eliza’s situation and Tuptim’s that, while not exact, serve to justify its inclusion.
Soon enough, the king is dead; his reformist son, now king, is walking forward; and Anna is soon, we trust, to begin her memoirs. Those memoirs (generously fictionalized) would later inspire a novel, and that novel would then inspire this musical—which is a masterpiece.
“It was a huge, huge hit when it came out,” Shaddow sats. “The music was so beautiful. The score unbelievably lush. It set the bar for what this art form can be.”
The musical debuted in 1951. It is now 2018. Yesterday’s bar-setting shows quickly become stale and dated.
“Anna and the King” would be a different musical if it were to premiere today; cultural sensitivities would demand it. Still, there’s little that feels dusty, and in its commitment to presenting a strong, effective woman, and in showing the dangers of misogyny, it speaks to our time.
The King and I
DeVos Performance Hall
June 5–10
Tickets, starting at $38, available here.
