Post Seventeen of the “We Didn’t Start the Fire” series focuses on the play The King and I. The King
Post Seventeen of the “We Didn’t Start the Fire” series focuses on the play The King and I. The King and I is the fifth musical by the team of composer Richard Rodgers and dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II. The play is based on Margaret Landon’s novel, Anna and the King of Siam (1944) and was directed by John van Druten. It played at the St. James Theatre from March 29, 1951 to March 20, 1954. The original cast included Gertrude Lawrence, Yul Brynner, Doretta Morrow, Dorothy Sarnoff and Robin Craven. Lawrence would be replaced by Constance Carpenter after dying from cancer on September 6, 1952. The play would dominate at the 1952 Tony Awards by winning Best Musical, Best Actress In A Musical (Lawrence), Best Featured Actor In A Musical (Brynner), Best Scenic Design and Best Costume Design. Brynner would reprise the role of King Mongkut of Siam in the 1956 film “The King and I” opposite Deborah Kerr. He would win the 1957 Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading RoleFor Further Reading:The King and I from Playbill.comThe King and I from the Internet Broadway Database (IBD)Remembering the Original Broadway Production of The King and I by Ted Chapin from Playbill dated March 29, 2020 -- source link
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