Everyone’s talking about… The King and I introducing the stars of the show, plus our ticket offer
ahead of its West End transfer, the stars of hit broadway musical, The King and I, talk to nathalie Whittle about bringing the show to life “My character, Anna, has incredible strength – there aren’t many roles like that”
This summer, the multi-tony award-winning production of rodgers and hammerstein’s The King and I is making its West end debut – and tickets are selling fast. Directed by Bartlett sher, it’s set in the 19th century, stars three of the original lincoln Center theater cast members and tells the story of an improbable romance between a British school teacher and the King of siam. Broadway star Kelli o’hara,
41, plays anna leonowens. a six-time tony award nominee, she won her first tony award for the role in 2015. Kelli is married to actor greg Naughton and has two children, owen, eight, and Charlotte, five. i think it was a blessing in disguise that i wasn’t aware of other revivals of The King and I before doing this show. in fact, i hadn’t seen the original film, so i had no idea how important this story was – and still is. i started by reading Margaret landon’s Anna and the King of Siam, then susan Morgan’s Bombay Anna, which gives a different take on who anna was. it was an emotional rollercoaster for me – in a good way.
the dynamic between ken [Watanabe] and i offstage is quite funny; it’s so alike to what you see on stage. being Japanese, his culture and the way he deals with people is extremely different to what i’m
used to. and he’s a movie star who has all these people around him all the time – and i’m a mother-of-two telling my kids to take their fingers out of their noses!
anna has this incredible strength – there aren’t a lot of roles like that. i started out in this business as an ingénue and when you play that role, you’re in love or seeking love, which is fun when you’re 20, but you don’t stand for much. then you start getting roles that are more brassy or sexy and you’re usually not standing for too much then either. so to be able to play a woman who fights for fairness makes me feel powerful in my own life too. one of the biggest challenges with this show is the costumes. i wear huge hoop skirts that have weights hanging from the underskirt to keep them balanced and at first i kept tripping over.
i’m so excited to be heading to london – i’ve never been before. i grew up on a farm in oklahoma and we never travelled anywhere. the plan is to bring my whole family over, put my children in school for a while and immerse them in the culture.
i do feel pressure too. the fact that i’ve won a tony award for the role is bound to make people think, “is she any good?” but i’m so proud of our show.