The King and I Announces Auditions for Children's Roles Brisbane Season

Opera Australia is casting for children for the award winning production of The King and I playing in the Queensland Performing Arts Centre's (QPAC's) Lyric Theatre, Brisbane from 15 April 15th to 1 June 2014.

The King and I children's auditions will take place on Sunday 5 January 2014 at QPAC, Brisbane.

Associate Director and Casting Director for The King and I Neil Rutherford said that the production is seeking children who are of any Asian ethnicity aged from 4 to 10 years old.

"We are looking for a total of 22 children to portray Thai Princes and Princesses who are the children of the King of Siam, with roles to be shared in two groups of 11. The children need to have charm and individual character and be able to sing and act.

"We also have two male speaking roles for actors aged 10 or 11 years of age to play Prince Chululongkorn, also of any Asian ethnicity, and Louis, who needs to be of Caucasian decent, preferably with blonde hair and the ability to emulate an English accent.

"The children have several scenes throughout the show, and with the wonderful chance to perform alongside artists of the calibre of Lisa McCune and Teddy Tahu Rhodes, and lots of great songs such as Getting to Know You, there is a lot of fun to be had. This is really a terrific opportunity for young Queensland talent.

"The successful applicants need to be available to the production from 15 April to 1 June 2014 for rehearsals and their roles during the Brisbane season," said Mr Rutherford.

All children need to register before the auditions and a photo and CV should be sent in advance to neil@neilrutherford.com. Children will also need to complete a form on the day of auditions at 9.00am.

Starring Lisa McCune and Teddy Tahu Rhodes, the Tony Award-winning Australian production, which is being revived by John Frost and Opera Australia, will open as an Australian Premiere at QPAC on 15 April 2014.

Much-loved Australian actress and four-time Gold Logie winner Lisa McCune plays English governess Anna Leonowens, while internationally acclaimed opera singer Teddy Tahu Rhodes takes on his second musical theatre role as the King of Siam.

Chinese-born Australian opera singer Shu-Cheen Yu plays Lady Thiang, the King's chief wife, returning to the production 23 years after playing the young Burmese slave girl Tuptim in 1991.

Adrian Li Donni is Lun Tha, the Burmese scholar and envoy who is secretly in love with Tuptim, a role he played for the Production Company in Melbourne in 2010 and in the US the year before that.

The King and I was Rodgers and Hammerstein's fifth musical together and is considered one of the jewels in their crown. It was based on Margaret Landon's 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam, which took its inspiration from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, a British governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam (now Thailand) in the early 1860s.

The beautiful score includes the songs "I Whistle a Happy Tune", "Getting to Know You", "Shall We Dance?" and "Hello, Young Lovers".