So does Montalban, but his voice leaves something to be desired, and the chemistry between the two is more formulaic than shot through with the excitement and fear of attraction. Baldwin, with her lovely, pitch-perfect voice and English certitude makes her arguments persuasively throughout. Rona Figueroa and Matthew Uzarraga in “The King and I” (Photo: Todd Rosenberg)Ĭrucial to any production of “The King and I” is the chemistry between Anna and the King. He is the son of Lady Thiang (the warm yet authoritative Rona Figueroa), the wife who clearly loves the King, and will learn “the scientific” thinking of the West. Chief among them is the King’s young heir, Prince Chulalongkorn (Matthew Uzarraga, who has understood how to command a stage since he was a tot, and does so to exceptional effect here). Anna has been hired by the King of Siam (Paolo Montalban) to serve as schoolmistress to some of his 77 children (those born to the favorites among his many wives). The story, of course, is about the arrival in Siam of the attractive, proto-feminist Welsh woman, Anna Leonowens (played by Kate Baldwin), a worldly widow with a young son and some diplomatic connections. Paolo Montalban and Kate Baldwin star in the Lyric Opera of Chicago production of “The King and I.” (Photo: Todd Rosenberg)īased on a true story turned into a 1944 novel by Margaret Landon, “The King and I” arrived on Broadway in 1951, just as this country was embracing its post-World War IIsuper-power status and still dealing with racial segregation. And Blakeley has used a mostly presentational style (the story stops when a major song is to be sung), that is not just antiquated for Broadway, but for opera as well. This production, initially created by director Lee Blakeley for the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, has been re-cast with a number of Broadway veterans and Chicago actors. But I was not really heartbroken by this extraordinary, ever timely story that deals with everything from cross-cultural connections and misunderstandings, to the tension between maintaining tradition and adapting to the modern world, to the balance of power between men and women.

While I remember leaving the 2014 Marriott Theatre production of “The King and I” in tears, I left the Sunday afternoon performance of the Lyric production feeling I’d seen the heft of the royal treasury of the Kingdom of Siam in the 1860s. Wacker Tickets: $29 – $199 Info: Run time: 3 hours, with one intermission

‘THE KING AND I’ Somewhat recommended When: Through May 22 Where: Civic Opera House, 20 N.

Lyric opera king and i