The Kings of Broadway
For most Broadway fans, “The King and I,” remains as entertaining as it was when it was first produced 66 years ago. One of Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s best, it is rooted in the true story of Mongkut who ruled Siam (now known as Thailand) from 1851-1868, and the Indian-born British schoolteacher named Anna Leonowens who who taught his many wives and children. While in Siam, Leonowens published two memoirs, The English Governess at Siamese Court in 1870 and Romance of the Harem in 1872. And 60 years later, Margaret Landon melded the two narratives into a semi-fictionalized novel: Anna and the King of Siam, which was adapted as a black-and-white film in 1946, starring Rex Harrison as Mongkut and Irene Dunne as Anna. The story was readapted again for the Broadway Stage as a musical in 1951.
Yul Brynner wasn’t very well known prior to starring in “The King and I,” on Broadway. That changed when “The King and I,” opened to great acclaim from critics and audiences alike. The original production of the musical won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Actor in a Musical for Brynner. When 20th Century Fox gave the “green light” to the film adaptation of “The King and I,” and asked Brynner to reprise his stage role, they told him that they were considering casting Maureen O’Hara as Anna. But Brynner specifically requested for good friend Deborah Kerr and Fox obliged. (Both received Best Actor Oscar Nominations for their performances, and Brynner won.) Brynner reprised his role as Mongkut for two Broadway revivals in 1977 and 1985, playing 695 and 191 performances respectively. In 1985, Brynner was also awarded a special Tony for having played the role of King Mongkut on stage for a grand total of 4,625 performances. Then returned for a not-very-well-known television series called Anna and the King (1972) which only lasted 13 episodes. The show paired him with Samantha Eggar as Anna, who ironically made the film Dr. Doolittle (1967) with Rex Harrison.
Rex Harrison was the first actor to play Mongkut on screen. When Twentieth Century Fox gave was casting the “The King and I,” movie-musical, they offered the role of the King to him, but he declined it, having already committed to his career-defining role: Professor Henry Higgins in Lerner and Lowe’s My Fair Lady. And—just like “The King and I,”—“My Fair Lady,” also won the Tonys for Best Musical and Best Actor in a Musical. (Harrison also won the Best Actor Oscar for the 1964 film adaptation of My Fair Lady and reprised the role for the 25th Anniversary Broadway production of the musical in 1981.)
Two more film adaptations of the story were made (a non-musical version in 1999, Anna and the King, with Jodie Foster as Anna and Chow-Yun Fat as King Mongkut, and an animated movie-musical the same year). Broadway revivals followed in 1996 and 2015 that also won followed Tonys as the story’s popularity continues.
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