THE KING AND I Forms New Partnership with MCRI

Opera Australia and John Frost, producers of the hit musical The King and I, have announced a partnership with the Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) that will see this lavish and opulent production deliver much needed funds to Australia's preeminent child health research institute.

The King and I is providing 600 tickets to an exclusive dress rehearsal performance on Sunday June 8 at 6pm for which all proceeds are donated to this worthwhile charity. The funds collected from this performance will go towards research into conditions affecting children, such as allergies, diabetes and obesity, as well as finding answers to unsolved problems, such as cancer and genetic conditions.

"We have an exceptionally talented cast of children starring in The King and I, so we couldn't think of a more appropriate charity to partner with than The Murdoch Children's Research Institute," said John Frost and Opera Australia's Artistic Director Lyndon Terracini. "We are hoping that the Melbourne public will get behind this fantastic opportunity to support such a crucial charity."

"We are extremely grateful to the producers of The King & I for nominating the Institute as the charity partner for their Melbourne season," said Murdoch Children's Research Institute's Director Professor Kathryn North. "The money raised from the event will provide vital funding to new research projects and allow us to assist seriously ill babies and children."

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.

For the Melbourne season, four-time Gold Logie winner Lisa McCune plays English governess Anna Leonowens opposite international stage and screen star Jason Scott Lee as the King.