Ethan Le Phong and Paulina Yeung Join UK Tour Of THE KING AND I

It's been announced today that American musical theatre stars Ethan Le Phong and Paulina Yeung have been cast in the UK touring production of THE KING AND I. Reprising their USA and Canada National tour roles of the Young Lovers, Lun Tha and Tuptim, Le Phong and Yeung will now join West End star Annalene Beechey as Anna and Broadway star Jose Llana as The King, in the Rodgers & Hammerstein's multi-award winning musical which has just opened the third leg of its international tour in Edinburgh to standing ovations.

This unmissable production of THE KING AND I, which follows a critically acclaimed Broadway smash hit run and a sell-out record breaking season at both the world famous London Palladium and Tokyo Theatre Orb, will also visit Edinburgh and Leeds and be part of the Christmas season in Birmingham.

Ethan Le Phong was part of the original West End cast of Disney's Aladdin and went on to be the understudy for the lead role of Aladdin on Broadway. An IARA award-nominated actor, Le Phong is no stranger to the UK as he's played numerous roles on the West End including Thuy in Miss Saigon, Abner in South Pacific and was part of the original cast of We Will Rock You.

Paulina Yeung has worked with various theatre companies and festivals across the USA and Asia with recent theatre credits includng Discover: New Musicals for National Asian Artists Project, Road to Heaven for China Broadway Entertainment, Lost in Shanghai for Pan Asian Repertory Theatre. The multi award winning Yeung has also played First Lady in The Magic Flute for Opera Hong Kong and as Pamina for New York Lyric Opera Theatre.

Acclaimed Tony Award-winning Bartlett Sher - fresh from his huge Broadway success of To Kill A Mockingbird - will once again direct this majestic production and be reunited with his celebrated creative team that brought THE KING AND I to life in London last year.

THE KING AND I UK tour cast includes Cezarah Bonner as Lady Thiang, alongside Kok-Hwa Lie in the role of Kralahome and Aaron Teoh Guan Tias Prince Chulalongkorn. Philip Bulcock will take on the dual roles of Captain Orton and Sir Edward Ramsay and William M Lee will play Phra Alack. The female ensemble will have two new additions with Jessica Gomes-Ng and Sunny Yeo joining Yuki Abe, Miiya Alexandra, Aiko Kato, Misa Koide, Ela Lisondra, Yuki Ozeki, Ena Yamaguchi and Sian Yeo. The male ensemble will include Iroy Abesamis, Cletus Chan, Steven Hardcastle, Eu Jin Hwang, Jesse Milligan, Prem Rai and Joaquin Pedro Valdes. The Swings will be Rachel Jayne Picar, Nick Len, Jasmine Leung and Samuel How.

Set in 1860s Bangkok, the musical tells the story of the unconventional and tempestuous relationship that develops between the King of Siam and Anna Leonowens, a British schoolteacher whom the modernist King, in an imperialistic world, brings to Siam to teach his many wives and children.