The King and I

The King and I is a musical by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, with a script based on the book Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon.The plot comes from the story written by Anna Leonowens, who became school teacher to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in the early 1860s. Leonowens' story was autobiographical except that its objective accuracy is questionable. In Thailand, the possession of anything related to Anna and the King of Siam or The King and I is illegal, because of the historical inaccuracies about the King of Siam. It then became a movie and starred Deborah Kerr and Yul Brunner.

The musical opened on Broadway in 1951 and was the fourth hit out of five collaborations for the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It ran for 1,246 performances, winning the Tony Award for Best Musical, among other awards. It spawned numerous revivals and a popular 1956 film version.

Mrs. Anna Leonowens, a widow from Wales, arrives in Bangkok with her young son to teach English to the children of the royal household. The King eventually honors his promise of a suitable house. He also very much wishes to absorb western knowledge, but is sometimes conflicted over how to reconcile western ways with his own. His efforts to do this, unadmitted even by himself, are further hindered by his minister, who wishes to keep Western influence out of the court.

Meanwhile, a new (literate) slave for the king named Tuptim -- a gift from the king of Burma -- befriends "Mrs. Anna" and borrows her copy of Uncle Tom's Cabin. She transforms it into the Siamese ballet Small House of Uncle Thomas, which is presented amidst the welcoming of emissaries from Great Britain, making it clear she is unhappy being a slave to the King. After the performance, when she tries to escape with her lover Lun Tha, she is apprehended. Anna urges the King not to beat the girl; he states he will do so anyway but finds himself unable to (presumably due to Anna's influence on him) and he hides himself away and declines in health. In the play, it is strongly implied that both Tuptim and Lun Tha are put to death, but in the 1956 film version of The King and I, it is suggested that only Lun Tha is killed.

Anna, thinking that she can no longer be of any use, is just about to leave Siam when she is told that the King is dying. She decides to stay in order to help his young son, Crown Prince Chulalongkorn -- her favorite pupil -- to rule his people.