A business trip back in the early 1990s, on which I was able to accompany my husband Murray, still has special significance to me. Murray had a case in Singapore that required him to travel there for some onsite research. We decided to begin our trip with a five-day visit to Thailand. After a long day of flying, which included changing planes in Tokyo, we arrived around 1 AM in Bangkok. I still have a very vivid memory of our taxi ride from the airport to our hotel as traffic was bumper to bumper! And that is how it seemed all the time in Bangkok – never a time when there wasn’t a lot of traffic on the roads. A quick Google search as I am writing this post shows that traffic in Bangkok is still a major problem. Murray and I soon learned that many of the tourist sites were close to one another along the river and that it was possible to take a water taxi on the Chao Phraya River that connected The Grand Palace, Temple of the Reclining Buddha and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. We also took a river trip to the old capital and another river trip in smaller canals to get a flavor of local life. While we did not stay at a hotel on the river we determined that should we ever return, we would certainly do that, to radically limit our time on traffic-filled streets.
While the trip to the old capital was very interesting and I loved the various Buddha statues, my favorite part of the trip was the time in Bangkok at The Grand Palace. Upon entering the grounds my immediate reaction was that I was on the set of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s play The King and I. Everything felt so familiar to me, having been such a fan of the musical. Of course I realized that this was where so many of the set ideas had come from. And for choreographer Jerome Robbins, the position of the figures in many of the facades were woven into the dances.
My own history with The King and I goes back to shortly after the original production starring Gertrude Lawrence and Yul Brynner opened on Broadway in March 1951. My good friend Regina had an original recording of the show. We would dance to the songs in her living room. In 1956 the film version of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical came out, and what a dazzling production with amazing sets! Jerome Robbins recreated his ballet Small House of Uncle Thomas for the film, and I loved that ballet.
In 1964, after returning to Pittsburgh following my two years at Juilliard, I was asked to choreograph a production of The King and I that was being done at Taylor Allderdice High School, the very high school that I had attended. I had a wonderful time doing it. There are three wonderful dance moments in the musical: of course, the sixteen-minute ballet Small House of Uncle Thomas; The March of the Children, when they are introduced to their new teacher; and the duet between Anna and the King. Working with the two leads in the high school production was particularly fun and they were very appreciative of my help.
Over the years I have enjoyed watching the movie quite a few times and seeing revivals of the production. While I didn’t see the 2015 Broadway revival with Kelli O’Hara I was pleased when it won a Tony for best revival. There is even talk right now of a remake of the film. What a great contribution Rodgers and Hammerstein have made to musical theater!
I conclude this blog with a few pictures from our trip to Thailand and welcome your comments related to your connection to the award-winning The King and I.
Old Capital
Jerome Robbins’ choreography.
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Thank you so much for posting your experiences in Thailand as well as your thoughts on its relevance to the King and I. You and Murray did some amazing trips. I’ll never get to Thailand since I have a problem with long flights, crowds, heavy traffic, heat and humidity, but I’m starting to think about buying a virtual reality headset so I can enjoy long distance travels in the comfort of my climate controlled home! The Grand Palace in Thailand will be on my virtual reality bucket list thanks to your posting!
The virtual reality headset sounds like a good idea and lots of fun!
Thanks for commenting.
Really enjoyed your article although I must admit that when I was in Thailand in January 2020 I didn’t think of the King and I at all. I don’t know why – there was so much to see and do – it was overwhelming and I wasn’t thinking of musicals at all.
The traffic is as you described it and I got to go to some fabulous places in Northern Thailand – I can’t remember the name of this one all white very modern palace but it reminded me of … Liberace.
Fun to hear a little of your experience in Thailand last year!! Thanks for sharing!
The King and I original film production had a great effect on me.
While I have never been to Thailand, I appreciate hearing and seeing your blog about it now with photos. That original musical is a marvelous thing! There was
a film of it, straight acting, no music, with Jodi Foster that came out some time ago in the 1990’s I think, but it did not capture the magic of the story at all which seems to need the music and dance and costumes and actors of it’s time and place to honestly enrapture us. I never saw the original stage production which must have been extraordinary. What is interesting now for me is to see these old musical films, like The King and I, West Side Story, The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, take their place in history. No remakes we do today can hold a candle to them in my opinion. Things today that make sense and speak to us like those did are productions like a Chorus Line, Rent, Les Miserables, Hamilton, which unfortunately most people cannot afford to see live at the theatre anymore, but give us some of the meaning and magic now that we so crave from what the genre of musicals can offer. What strikes me is how the more recent material is somewhat more navel gazing than the past material. I mean Hamilton is a lesson in history, yes, and Les Mis is based on the brilliant novel by Victor Hugo, historical in itself, but something about the innocence of that time in the 50’s and sixties was captured in those original productions of that time that simply can never be repeated. It’s like we are too spoiled and jaded now to do them justice. And I don’t mean to say that the more innocent period we lived through wasn’t blind because it was in so many ways, and to so many things. But that leads us into a whole different discussion, so back to Thailand and the King and I. When it was possible to watch the King and I on a CD’s I watched it over and over (again sometime in the 90’s I believe) and I cried and fell in love with all the characters and music all over again too.. . how the King and Anna cannot admit their love for one another, how sad the passage from the old to the new can be – captured for me in the moment at the end when the son makes the decree of no more bowing standing at the foot of the King’s deathbed, while the servant does a slow bow to the ground anyway – right next to the King.
Thanks for the photos of Thailand from your trip. They are amazing images and it’s clear to see the how the statues and JR choreography do relate.
Love,
Lynn
Oh Lynn I love that you took the time to write your thoughts and I so agree with you! I forgot about the film version with Jodie Foster and had the same reaction that you did that it just didn’t capture the story like the musical did. Thank you for sharing the ending moment of transition from the old to the new and the visual image of the servant doing a slow bow to the ground while the son makes the decree of no more bowing.
Also very much appreciate your comments on musical theatre in general. I look forward to doing more blogs related to musical theatre!!
Love,
JoAnne
Hi, JoAnn,
Your entry helped me to reconnect with a visit to Thailand with Fred. The streets
were quite flooded, and the only way to get across the water was to climb onto the back of one of the Thai men offering a piggy back ride! What an experience!
Love, Audrey
Wow…Audrey thanks for sharing your experience in Thailand.
Love,
JoAnne