Critics are raving over director Bartlett Sher's version of the 1950s musical production "The King and I," particularly over the dazzling performance of actress Kelli O'Hara and her onstage chemistry with Japanese film actor Ken Watanabe, who makes his Broadway debut in Sher's latest play.
"The King and I" stars O'Hara, who has been described as "angelic," "exquisite," and "glorious" by reviewers, as the strong-willed, widow Mrs. Anna Leonowens who arrives in Siam in the 1860s (now Bangkok) to teach the many children of the Siamese king, played by Watanabe, in the ways of the Western world, where Leonowens and her young son, Louis, come from.
"O'Hara, with her silvery pinpoint vocal precision and her natural empathy, creates an Anna of fierce, caring intelligence," says Linda Winer for Newsday.
As for Watanabe, who makes his first Broadway appearance in this Lincoln Center Theater production, critics have noted his Japanese accent sometimes got in the way of his pronunciation but only makes his role as an Asian king more authentic. Where it counts, however, Watanabe is as impressive as his onstage partner in portraying the underlying vulnerability and playfulness of a powerful king in a largely male-dominated time and place.
"Watanabe doesn't yet hold the stage with complete confidence, or enunciate all of his lines clearly," says Elysa Gardner of USA Today. "But his performance is brave, underlining the character's hidden vulnerability, and at times disarmingly playful. Sparring with and teasing Anna, his King can convey an almost childlike sense of mischief, and wonder."
And "shiver-inducing" sparks apparently fly between both leads, says Jeremy Gerard of Deadline, as Anna and the king dance to "Shall We Dance?" As for the supporting cast, reviewers can say nothing short of excellent about them; although a standout as noted by AM New York's Matt Windman is Ruthie Ann Miles, who plays the king's chief wife Lady Thiang. Even the king's 50 children, who march out on stage to the tune of "The March of the Siamese Children," and their mothers, each have their own telling quirks.
"Dressed to the tens by Michael Yeargan (set) and Catherine Zuber (costumes), the show is both panoramic and personal, balancing dazzling musical set pieces with sung introspective soliloquies," says Ben Brantley of the New York Times. "That opening scene, with the deceptively little women on the big boat, makes a promise it keeps - that macro and micro points of view will be equally honored."
"The King and I" opened on Thursday night at the Vivian Beaumont Theater. Tickets will be on sale through Jan. 3, 2016.
Don't forget to follow T-Lounge on Twitter and visit our Facebook page.
