Manna Nichols News

BWW Review: THE KING & I National Tour at Durham Performing Arts Center

Stage veteran Orville Mendoza, currently starring in Classic Stage's revival of PACIFIC OVERTURES, opens up on a number of provocative and essential topics.

Following a Tony Award-winning Broadway run at Lincoln Center Theater in 2015 and 2016, Bartlett Sher's THE KING AND I is now hitting the road on a national tour and arrives in Chicago this month. In advance of the production's arrival, I spoke with cast member Manna Nichols. Nichols plays the role of Burmese princess Tuptim, who is presented to the titular King of Siam as a peace offering at the beginning of the show. She chatted about the relevance of this Rodgers and Hammerstein classic in 2017 and why she's drawn to the role of Tuptim.

When the King of Siam (Jose Llana) sends for a governess to mentor his royal children, you would expect her arrival to be in grand fashion. And it was. At the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa, when the curtain parts, the striking opening scene for The King and I unveils a boat anchoring dockside amidst a colorful sunset in Bangkok. As Anna Leonowens (Laura Michelle Kelly), a Welsh widow and her handsome son Louis (Graham Montgomery), prepare to disembark, Louis expresses some trepidation about the new life they are about to start in an unfamiliar land. His mother answers him with, I Whisle a Happy Tune, setting the tone for this delightful musical and gifting the audience with the angelic vocal talents of Miss Kelly.

Ambassador Theatre Group and NETworks Presentations LLC announced that Laura Michelle Kelly (Anna Leonowens) and Jose Llana (King of Siam) will lead the national tour of the Lincoln Center Theater production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's THE KING AND I. The multiple Tony Award-winning Broadway hit will run at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County for a limited time starting May 9 through May 14, 2017.

The National Tour of the Tony Award-winning Lincoln Center Theater production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's THE KING AND I brings its parade of adorable children, a pair of star-crossed lovers, an imperial ruler, and a strong-willed, warm-hearted educator to the Boston Opera House through April 23rd. One of the grande dames of the 1950s, THE KING AND I retains its exalted place in the R & H pantheon, thanks to the artistry of Director Bartlett Sher, a songbird by the name of Laura Michelle Kelly, and a flawed King of Siam for our times, Jose Llana.

A journey to the Far East reveals extravagant sets, ornate costumes, and symphonic melodies in The King and I's return to Pittsburgh. The Rodgers and Hammerstein classic has been delighting audiences for over half a century with the jokes that remain funny, orchestrations that endure beautifully, and themes that resonate contemporarily.

Wiry and witty, this production can proudly stand among Rogers and Hammerstein's best.

The latest iteration of the production on tour is crafted with care and performed with verve. It's an 'old-fashioned' Broadway staple, and it never wears out its welcome. It unabashedly tugs at the heartstrings, tickles the funny bone and jerks the tears, just as it did when it opened 66 years ago this month. Few musicals achieve this kind of longevity, and more than a few of those are from the pens of Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Since 1927, the Fort Wayne Civic Theatre has been a constant force in the sustainability of our downtown and in the fabric of the Arts in Northeast Indiana.

Next up for the National Tour of The King and I, which won a Tony Award for Best Revival in 2015, is Houston's Hobby Center, where it will play March 14-19. Laura Michelle Kelly (Anna Leonowens) and Jose Llana (King of Siam) lead the production, with Joan Almedilla as Lady Thiang, Brian Rivera as Kralahome, Manna Nichols as Tuptim, Kavin Panmeechao as Lun Tha, Anthony Chanas Prince Chulalongkorn, Graham Montgomery as Louis Leonowens and Baylen Thomas as Captain Orton/Sir Edward Ramsey.

Next up for the National Tour of The King and I, which won a Tony Award for Best Revival in 2015, is Houston's Hobby Center, where it will play March 14-19. Laura Michelle Kelly (Anna Leonowens) and Jose Llana (King of Siam) lead the production, with Joan Almedilla as Lady Thiang, Brian Rivera as Kralahome, Manna Nichols as Tuptim, Kavin Panmeechao as Lun Tha, Anthony Chanas Prince Chulalongkorn, Graham Montgomery as Louis Leonowens and Baylen Thomas as Captain Orton/Sir Edward Ramsey.

The King & I revival national tour is closing after tonight's performance in Minneapolis and moving on to the next city but left this writer with memories that were doubly delightful.

The National Tour of The King and I, which won a Tony Award for Best Revival in 2015, is playing at Cleveland's Palace Theatre, where it will remain through February 26.  Laura Michelle Kelly (Anna Leonowens) and Jose Llana (King of Siam) will lead thenational tour of the Lincoln Center Theater production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's THE KING AND I. Joan Almedilla will play Lady Thiang with Brian Rivera as Kralahome, Manna Nichols as Tuptim, Kavin Panmeechao as Lun Tha, Anthony Chanas Prince Chulalongkorn, Graham Montgomery as Louis Leonowens and Baylen Thomas as Captain Orton/Sir Edward Ramsey.

I've never been a huge fan of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "The King and I", currently playing at the Paramount Theatre. It's kind of dated, the songs, while many are classics, don't really move the story along, and plot points often come out of nowhere, plus it's one of those staples from the Golden Age of musicals that's just been done to death. But as much as it's not one of my favorites, this current production was so filled with heart, talent and incredible staging that even I have developed a new appreciation for it.

Ambassador Theatre Group and NETworks Presentations LLC announce that Laura Michelle Kelly (Anna Leonowens) and Jose Llana (King of Siam) will lead the national tour of the Lincoln Center Theater production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's THE KING AND I that will play Seattle's Paramount Theatre from January 24 through February 3, 2017.

Ambassador Theatre Group and NETworks Presentations LLC announce that Laura Michelle Kelly (Anna Leonowens) and Jose Llana (King of Siam) will lead the national tour of the Lincoln Center Theater production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's THE KING AND I that will play Seattle's Paramount Theatre from January 24 through February 3, 2017.

A friend referred to The King and I as a war horse, an old chestnut, for it has surely surpassed time as an enduring musical classic, but upon seeing it again, one realizes just how potent, vibrant and topical a piece it truly is. Musicals of such depth and perspective with a keen eye to the future seem to be a thing of the past. Yes, it's a love story at the core, an unlikely one, but with many, many more levels. It entails issues of race, slavery, the urgency for a king of a tiny uncivilized kingdom to change his primitive, barbaric ways, and for his children to receive a truthful education as he embarks on assimilating 19th century Siam to western culture and civilization...and to repeat, it's a bigger-than-life love story that has become eternally revered not only for its music but for its intolerance of bigotry of any type. In this 2015 Broadway revival, currently onstage at the Hollywood Pantages Theater, nothing is lost; every gorgeous detail is present, and the story of Anna and The King is radiantly performed through January 21, 2017. In short, this production is a stunner.

The National Tour of The King and I, which won a Tony Award for Best Revival in 2015, is opened at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles last night, and will play through January 21st, 2017. Stars of the stage and screen, including original cast members of one of Rodgers and Hammerstein's most beloved classics, came out in droves to celebrate the opening, and we've got all of the lovely red carpet photos below!

Broadway In Boston, Ambassador Theatre Group and NETworks Presentations LLC announced today that the national tour of The Lincoln Center Theater Production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's THE KING AND I, will play a limited two week engagement at the Boston Opera House April 11-23, 2017 as part of the 2016-2017 Lexus Broadway In Boston Season. THE KING AND I, directed by Tony Award® Winner Bartlett Sher won four 2015 Tony Awards® including Best Revival of a Musical.