MULTI TONY AWARD-WINNING PRODUCTION

Music by RICHARD RODGERS

Book and Lyrics by OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN II

Directed by Tony Award Winner BARTLETT SHER

Further casting has been announced for the multi Tony Award-winning production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s THE KING AND I which arrives at The Alexandra Birmingham from 28 February. Broadway star and film actor Darren Lee (Hackers/Sisters/Chicago/Guys and Dolls) will play the title role of The King of Siam opposite Helen George, known to millions for the past decade as Trixie in the hit BBC One series Call The Midwife, who will star as Anna Leonowens. 

This gloriously lavish production will be brought to the stage by an internationally renowned creative team under Tony Award-winning director Bartlett Sher (South Pacific/My Fair Lady/ To Kill a Mockingbird) and will feature a world-class company of talented performers and a full-scale orchestra.

Joining Helen George and Darren Lee is Dean John-Wilson (London Palladium production of The King and I/Aladdin) who will reprise his role as Lun Tha, Marienella Phillips (Henry V/Carmen) who will play  Tuptim alongside Cezarah Bonner who returns as Lady Thiang, the King’s head wife,  Kok-Hwa Lie (2020 UK Tour of The King And I/ Rent) will play the role of Kralahome, Caleb Lagayan (Les Misérables) will play Prince Chulalongkorn, Sam Jenkins-Shaw (The Night Watch/Jane Eyre) takes the role of Captain Orton/Sir Edward Ramsay and Maria Coyne (Phantom of the Opera/Wicked) will be the Alternate Anna. 

The ensemble includes Chi Chan, Jeffrey Chekai, Emily Grace-Ling, Cher Nicolette Ho, Rachel Wang-Hei Lau, Daniel Len, Candy Ma, Rachel MacDougall, Amelia Kinu Muus, Yuki Ozeki, Kitt Pakapom, Prem Rai, Ria Tanaka, Hiromi Toyooka, Jasmine Triadi, Jensen Tudtud, Qinwen Xue and Jason Yang-Westland. Harry Altoft, Dexter Barry, Max Ivemey and Charlie McGuire will play Louis, Anna’s son. Bethany Campbell, Coco Bridger, Cody Concha, Ethan Fung, Dulcie-Bella Hackley, Caitlin Lau, Khun Cho Lwin, Angelica Quynh An Nguyen, Tenzin Noryang, Sabri Leonel Puci, Niall Rina, Francis Benedict Sarte, Mia Snowdon, Yuen Zhai and Phoebe Zhao-Welsh will play the Royal children.

Following a critically acclaimed Broadway smash-hit run, a sold-out season at the London Palladium (which resulted in the biggest global live event cinema release of 2018) and a previous record-breaking UK and International tour, this multi-Tony Award-winning production arrives at The Alexandra Birmingham from 28 February to 4 March 2023. 

The critical acclaim for Bartlett Sher’s production has been phenomenal.  When the show opened at the London Palladium in 2018, West End critics heaped praise on the show: the Daily Mail “left the London Palladium on a bright cloud of music”, while the The Times awarded the show “Five stars for a sumptuous King and I” declaring it “a hit”. Daily Express hailed it “London’s theatrical event of 2018” whilst The Daily Telegraph concurred proclaiming the show “looks and sounds ravishing”. Another five stars were awarded from the Sunday Express and the Financial Times called it “simply spellbinding”.

THE KING AND I is a sumptuous, timeless romance from the golden age of musicals, adored by the public and critics alike – and boasting one of the finest scores ever written, including Whistle a Happy Tune, Getting to Know You, and Shall We Dance. 

Set in 1860s Bangkok, THE KING AND I 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.