King And I

"Take an instant trip to the Palace of Siam when you watch the spectacular musical play, "The King and I". Feel how it is to be treated by a king, as a servant or as a royal person. Live in Siam for a night."

Ongoing at the Newport Performing Arts Theater at the Resorts World Manila is the wonderful musical "The King and I". It is based on a novel by Margaret Landon which originally played in Broadway in 1956 and has been made into a movie. The story portrays life in the olden times in Siam (now Thailand) where the king wants to show the world that the country is modern and powerful. The music of the original play was by Richard Rogers and the lyrics is by Oscar Hammerstein II.

The two main characters are played by Leo Valdez as the King and Monique Wilson as Anna. She is a beautiful school teacher, an English woman who was hired by the king to teach his favored children (from the 69 kids which then became 71!) and his many wives.

I enjoyed the part when the King held a party for the visiting high-ranking English men who wanted to see if the King was a barbarian. It was thrilling and exciting to see what would happen next. The king consulted Anna whose opinion he respected (eventually) although he had a difficult time admitting it.

Anna and the King had many arguments, starting from the king's promise that she will be given her own house. They come from different cultures and ways of life. So most of the time, they disagreed with each other. But towards the end, they began to understand each other. They were actually learning to forgive and adapt to each other's culture, but the peace was intercepted by the secret police reporting about Tuptim, a princess from Burma who was a "gift" to the King, and who escaped from the palace. Anna was flabbergasted that a person can be given as a gift and she felt so angry that the king's punishment for running away is to whip her.

The king felt superior and demanded that everyone bowed to him all the time. He treated women as lesser than men. Hmm...I find that discriminating! But I am happy how the story unfolded....

I really like it when the king acted funny. He learned the word "etcetera" from Anna and kept repeating it. It made the audience laugh especially when the king kept adding "etcetera, etcetera" to his sentences. Leo Valdez was so good in changing the tone of his voice and in making faces. His facial expression showed his actual feelings.


Overall, I loved the play. One great thing about plays is its changing set and awesome props. The props were very attractive and scenic. The director used a large screen to show the magnificent setting which combined art and technology.  All the actors and actresses were talented, including the young children in the show. For a moment, I wondered if they were not sleepy at that time. The music was relaxing and catchy. I strongly recommend that you watch it and be dazzled by the show.

"So, what are YOU waiting for? Grab a ticket of "The King and I" before it ends. I hope you will like the play as much as I do, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera!" :-)