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THE KING AND I – Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Alfred Newman
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
In 1950 composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II adapted the play “Anna and The King of Siam” (1944) by Margaret London into a Broadway Musical titled “The King And I”. It had a very successful run of 1,246 performances and in 1951 they secured backing from Darryl F. Zanuck of 20th Century Fox Studios to do a film adaptation. Charles Brackett was assigned production with a $4.55 million budget, Ernest Lehman was hired to write the screenplay, Jerome Robbins was tasked with creating the choreography, and Walter Lang given the reins to direct. Casting was problematic as Rodgers rejected Maureen O’Hara who had a trained soprano voice, which led to Deborah Kerr landing the role of Anna Leonowens, although her singing voice required dubbing by Marni Nixon. Joining her would be Yul Brynner as King Mongkut of Siam, Rita Moreno as Tuptim, Terry Sanders as Lady Thiang, Martin Benson as Kralahome, and Rex Thompson as Louis Lenowens. Read more…
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