Drama Society presents The King and I
About the article
This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from October 1998.
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Opening night is Thursday, 5 November with performances Thursday through Saturday until 28 November at the Prospect Playhouse.
Anyone who has ever hummed along with one of the numerous popular songs from the stage show or movie will be grateful to Alan Hall for deciding to take on the considerable work involved in directing this play.
"Getting to Know You," "Whistle a Happy Tune," "Hello, Young Lovers" and "Shall We Dance?" have been generically popular since the stage version in 1951 and the movie, released in 1956. "My Lord and Master" was included by Barbra Streisand in one of her best-selling albums. Tom Jones adopted "I Have Dreamed" and Vic Damone made "We Kiss in a Shadow" the anthem of couples facing social stigma.
These songs and more by the renowned team of Rogers and Hammerstein provide just one reason why Alan says he has always wanted to do this show. "I think it's the best for music, the storyline is extremely dramatic and there is a humorous content," he commented this week.
"I first saw the King and I when I was seven or eight and my father was in it [playing the ambassador]. I was impressed by the talents of the children on stage and that's probably one of the things that kept me interested in theatre," he said.
The storyline and number of children involved both arise from the fact that the play has as its genesis the writings of an English woman who served as governess in the court of the king of Siam [now Thailand] during the 1860s. Mrs. Anna Leonowens had as her students many of the king's 67 offspring.
Alan has visited Thailand twice, most recently just two years ago when he made an extended tour of the royal palace. The experience reinforced his wish to do this play.
A lot of things had to come together for it to happen, but they did. "The Cayman Drama Society agreed to the rather extravagant budget I requested. Then what I needed was a good choreographer and very dedicated wardrobe mistress. Linda Rayner and Cathy Peart filled those roles admirably. Kate Moore immediately offered to put together an orchestra and I know I can always rely on her. I prefer live music, with as many musicians as we can fit in."
Every director needs a good producer, so Alan was pleased when Penny Phillips asked to be involved. Perhaps surprisingly, the one thing Alan never worried about was a cast.
"I am always aware that there is a good pool of talent in Cayman at any one time," he explained, partly because of the turnover of people on work permits.
As co-director of Arsenic and Old Lace earlier this year, Alan was struck by the dedication through which actor Martin Tedd turned himself into his character. "I thought, 'aha that's my king' and he has shown that he is perfectly capable of playing the role."
Alan had difficulty filling one part, but persuaded Doug Tardiff to shave his beard and dye his hair.
About 40 adults attended auditions, among them newcomers Nicola Frickel from South Africa and Stewart Moracen from Scotland. Their voices and stage presence made them Alan's choices for the roles of Anna (the governess) and Lun Tha (who provides the romantic subplot).
Lun Tha's love interest is Tuptim, played by Joanne Diaz-Berry, well known to local audiences.
Helen Haines, a soloist with the Cayman National Choir, makes her acting debut as the king's principal wife.
All 16 children who auditioned are in the show. "I was impressed by their willingness to learn. Attendance at rehearsals has been nearly perfect and most of the time they're well behaved," Alan said. Some of the children know not only their own lines but the adult parts as well. He indicated he would have to take a firm hand to stop them from prompting in front of an audience.
