Rodgers & Hammerstein Encore! - Musicals-101 · the work that perfects their revolution. Only Carousel is as passionate, and even Carousel’s two leads aren’t as fascinating as

Rodgers & Hammerstein Encore!

OLLI Summer Term 2020 • Alan Teasley, Instructor

Class 5 • The King and I (1951)

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Today’s Opening Number

[3:28]

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Feedback: What you valued last time . . .

Well-organized. Moved along without wasting time. Packed in a lot of information. Article by Josh Cochran was informative. (One member stated: “I really appreciated Jason Cochran's article—just what everyone should be taught about evaluating cultural icons.”)

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Suggested Improvements (“What would make it even better?”)

Please play the whole scene and/or song (sometimes it’s rushed toward the end). Send out links for what we might listen to (for the next class) a bit earlier. Have a longer class. Can we go to 1:30 for the remaining classes?

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Questions from Class 4

Did Rodgers write the overtures, or did that fall to an orchestrator or arranger? Which version of South Pacific do I recommend? Why no clip of “Bali Ha’i?” Question about casting & ethnicity: my notes were vague; please re-ask today through chat feature.

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Goals of the Course

You will: Be familiar with five Rodgers and Hammerstein stage musicals (and be able to hum at least one song from each!)

Know about the careers of these men before and after their partnership

Understand the innovations that made this team’s shows revolutionary in the 1940s and 1950s

Enjoy Rodgers and Hammerstein’s many contributions to the Great American Songbook

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• Integrated song, story, and dance “as never before” (Purdum) • Owned their own publishing house and the rights to all their shows • Built an extensive casting and producing organization • Pioneered recording of original cast albums (details on NEXT SLIDE)

Innovations

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Today’s Focus

You will have: Increased knowledge of and appreciation for The King and I.

You will understand: Why Ethan Mordden thinks The King and I “perfected” the idea of the R&H musical.

Together we will reflect on: Why reviving The King and I might be considered “problematic” today.

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Using the Participant or Reaction button at the bottom of your screen, raise your hand or put a “thumbs up” if you watched The King and I.

Film Adaptation 1956

Broadway Revival 2015/2018

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R&H Chronology

1945 State Fair (film)—Class 8* 1951 The King and I—Today 1952 Victory at Sea (TV)* 1953 Me and Juliet—Class 6* 1955 Pipe Dream—Class 6* 1957 Cinderella (TV)—Class 8* 1958 Flower Drum Song—Class 8* 1959 The Sound of Music—June 25

*on class website under Fall 2019 Classes

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The King and I (1951)

• Source: Anna and the King of Siam, a novel by Margaret Landon, based on memoirs of Anna Leonowens

• Book & Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II • Score: Richard Rodgers • Director: John van Druten • Choreographer: Jerome Robbins • Scenic Design: Jo Mielziner • Costumes: Irene Sharaff • Cast: Gertrude Lawrence & Yul Brynner

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The King and I (1951) 5 Tony Awards

• Best Musical • Best Actress (Musical): Gertrude

Lawrence

• Featured Actor (Musical): Yul Brynner • Scenic Design: Jo Mielziner • Costume Design: Irene Sharaff

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The King and I (2015 Revival) 4 Tony Awards

• Best Revival of a Musical

• Best Actress (Musical): Kelli O’Hara

• Featured Actress (Musical): Ruthie Ann Miles

• Costume Design (Musical: Catherine Zuber

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The King and I (1956) Academy Awards: 9 Nominations (5 Wins)

• Best Picture • Best Actor: Yul Brynner • Best Actress: Deborah Kerr • Best Director: Walter Lang • Costume Design: Irene Sharaff • Art Direction/Set Decoration: Lyle R. Wheeler,

John DeCuir, Walter M. Scott, Paul S. Fox • Sound Recording: Carlton W. Faulkner • Music, Scoring: Alfred Newman, Ken Darby • Cinematography (Color): Leon Shamroy

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Note Billing:

• Best Actress: Gertrude Lawrence • Best Featured Actor: Yul Brynner

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Note Billing for the film:

Academy Awards:

• Best Actress (nominee): Deborah Kerr

• Best Actor (winner): Yul Brynner

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Note Billing (later in the NY run)

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Focus on The King & I

• Source material(s) • The musical sounds of Western

and Eastern characters’ songs

• The tragic second couple • The relationship between Anna

and the King

• “The work that perfects [the R&H] revolution” (Mordden)

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The King & I: Sources

• Memoirs of Anna Leonowens (1831-1915): The English Governess at the Siamese Court, 1870, which was . . .

• Fictionalized by Margaret Landon: Anna and the King of Siam, 1944, which was in turn . . .

• Adapted by Talbot Jennings & Sally Benson for the 1946 film (same title), some aspects of which were used in . . .

• Oscar Hammerstein II’s book for The King and I.

Anna Leonowens

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Anna & The King in Photographs

Anna Leonowens, c. 1862 King Mongkut & Chulalongkorn, c. 1866

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“Something Wonderful: The Story

of The King & I”

Disc 2 Extras on the DVD Release of the 1956 Film of

The King & I

[12:30]

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and the King


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The King and I: Anna’s Songs

• “I Whistle A Happy Tune”* • “Hello, Young Lovers” • “Getting to Know You” • “Shall I Tell You What I Think of

You?” • “Shall We Dance?”

*Gertrude Lawrence [2:45]

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• “I Whistle A Happy Tune”* • “Hello, Young Lovers” • “Getting to Know You” • “Shall I Tell You What I Think of


*Gertrude Lawrence [2:45]

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• “I Whistle A Happy Tune” • “Hello, Young Lovers”* • “Getting to Know You” • “Shall I Tell You What I Think of


*Julie Andrews [3:14]1992 Studio Recording

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• “I Whistle A Happy Tune” • “Hello, Young Lovers”* • “Getting to Know You” • “Shall I Tell You What I Think of


*Julie Andrews [3:14]1992 Studio Recording

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• “I Whistle A Happy Tune” • “Hello, Young Lovers” • “Getting to Know You” • “Shall I Tell You What I Think

of You?”* • “Shall We Dance?”

*Kelli O’Hara [5:50]

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The King and I: Songs for The King

• “A Puzzlement”* • “Song of the King” • “Shall We Dance?”

*Yul Brynner [3:16]

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The King and I: Songs for The King

• “A Puzzlement” • “Song of the King”* • “Shall We Dance?”

*Ben Kingsley [0:42]

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and the King


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The King and I: Songs for Tuptim & Lun Tha

• “My Lord and Master” • “We Kiss in a Shadow”* • “I Have Dreamed” • “The Small House of Uncle

Thomas”

*Na Young Jeon & Dean John-Wilson [4:12]

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Tuptim & Lun Tha as “Second Couple”

• Only “romantic” couple • Not comic foils as in

Oklahoma! & Carousel • Encouraged by Anna; spied

on by Lady Thiang • Tragic outcome • Lady Thiang as part of two

triangles Na Young Jeon & Dean John-Wilson

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The King and I: Songs for Lady Thiang

• “Something Wonderful”* • “Western People Funny”

*Ruthie Ann Miles [5:50]

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The King and I (1956): Songs Cut from the Film

• “Shall I Tell You What I Think of You?”—scored, recorded, and filmed but deleted

• “My Lord and Master”—scored and recorded but never filmed

• “I Have Dreamed”—partially scored, not filmed

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The King and I (1956): “The Small House of Uncle Thomas”

Jerome Robbins’s Original Broadway choreography closely recreated for the film

[Back to DVD Disc 2—2:30]

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and the King


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The King and I: One Song for Anna & the King

“Shall We Dance?” [~3:00]

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and the King


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Mordden’s Assessment of K&I as the “Perfection of R&H’s Revolution”

• “[Hammerstein’s book] does center the work’s hatred of slavery, as everyone is now part of the problem [King, Kralahome, Lady Thiang] or on the side of a solution [Anna, Tuptim, Lun Tha, Chulalongkorn].

• “[Anna and the King] must come to grips with the very core of what they cannot abide in each other—her resistance to authority and his egomania. Moreover, this happens only moments after the ‘Shall We Dance?’ scene, in which they have drawn closer to each other than ever before.”

• “Anna and the King are the show: but Tuptim is what the show is about.”

—Ethan Mordden, Rodgers and Hammerstein (Abrams, 1992)

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Mordden’s Assessment of K&I as the “Perfection of R&H’s Revolution”

• “[K&I] might well be the ‘other’ R&H masterpiece, as fulfilled a composition as Carousel, less experimental but more tightly built.

• “Of the Big Five . . . Oklahoma! is the exuberant ground breaker, Carousel the showpiece, Allegro the marvelous failure, and South Pacific the brooding treat, so mournful yet so elated.

• “But The King and I, for all the difficulty R&H had in writing it, is the work that perfects their revolution. Only Carousel is as passionate, and even Carousel’s two leads aren’t as fascinating as Anna and the King.”

—Ethan Mordden, Rodgers and Hammerstein (Abrams, 1992)

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The Rules in Ethan Mordden’s “R&H Handbook”*

1. Develop each story’s community background, culture, mores. 2. Write about people whose lives have meaning. 3. Start uniquely. 4. Anchor the score with character traction. 5. Change your genre from show to show. 6. The second act should last half as long as the first act with

twice as much action. 7. [Don’t have rules.]

*Anything Goes: A History of American Musical Theatre (2013)

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Time to Submit Your “Top 20!”

It’s now time to submit your a list of (at most) 20 Rodgers and Hammerstein songs you would include on your own “Essential R&H” playlist, album, concert, or revue

After Class 5 (today, June 18), I will send you a link to an online survey as a way for you to indicate your chosen songs (Thanks to Susan Dennison!) LINK

Submit your survey by 9 pm on Tuesday, June 23, and I will compile the results to be revealed at the last class on June 25.

If you plan to include any from The Sound of Music . . .

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Course Web Site: www.musicals-101.com

Preferred email address for questions: [email protected]

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• The 1965 film with Julie Andrews is available on Disney+ (no charge for subscribers) and Amazon Prime ($3.99 rental)

Next Class: The Sound of Music

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• A live telecast starring Carrie Underwood is available to rent for $2.99 on Amazon Prime

• Look under “The Sound of Music: Season 1 (Episode 1)”

• Cast includes Christian Borle, Audra McDonald, & Laura Benanti

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• A 2015 live TV version from England is also available on Amazon Prime (free with Broadway HD subscription)

• Look under “The Sound of Music Live”

• Cast includes Kara Tointon, Julian Ovenden, & Maria Friedman

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Use the Chat feature to share your feedback on today’s class

What worked for you as a learner? What would make it even better?

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To play us out . . .

Kelli O’Hara & Children (2015 revival)

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Documents

Rodgers & Hammerstein Encore! - Musicals-101 · the work that perfects their revolution. Only Carousel is as passionate, and even Carousel’s two leads aren’t as fascinating as