Purdue News

January 15, 1999 Lush 'King and I' hits Hall of Music on Feb. 3 WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The Broadway revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "The King and I" will play Purdue University's Elliott Hall of Music for one performance only at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 3. The musical is presented by Purdue Convocations and Lectures and is sponsored exclusively by Cinergy. Rodgers and Hammerstein's beloved musical about an English schoolteacher and her young son's incredible journey to the court of the King of Siam in the 1860s has enthralled families for more than 40 years. The original production in 1951, starring newcomer Yul Brynner and established star Gertrude Lawrence, won five Tony Awards; the 1996 revival, with Lou Diamond Phillips as the King, won four plus the Drama Desk and the Outer Critics Circle Awards. The beloved 1956 film version won Yul Brynner the Academy Award for Best Actor and Deborah Kerr the award for Best Actress. The current touring production of "The King and I," which sports the staging, sets and costumes of the hit Broadway revival, also recreates the original choreography of Jerome Robbins. A large corps of dancers pays fitting tribute to late artist's genius. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch described it as "... a sumptuous production that makes a familiar show seem fresh ... shine[s] with its original glory." The newspaper goes on to applaud Lego Louis as the King and Susannah Kenton as the English schoolteacher who opens his eyes to new ways of thinking: "Susannah Kenton projects an appealing combination of gentility and inner strength ... This Anna has what it takes to stand up to a king and charm him at the same time ... Lego Louis is a commanding presence as the King, posturing in a convincingly Siamese way. The King's softening in the second act is within the context of the character Louis has established, and so the growth of feeling between the King and Anna seems like an organic development rather than a manipulation of the plot." Tickets to the Feb. 3 performance are $32, $24 and $14 for the public, $18 and $14 for Purdue students, at campus box offices or by phone at (765) 494-3933 or 1-800-914-SHOW. Discounted Family Circle tickets (second balcony) are available for $6 and $8. CONTACT: Sue Stevens, Convocations publicist, (765) 494-9712; e-mail, snstevens@convos.purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page