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Heads of the class
Updated: Saturday, February 07, 2009
Social order hinges on keeping one’s head down in ‘The King and I’ at LTOB
NORTH BEND — The nation’s leader wants change.
Seen by his people as a visionary, he aims to remake his country’s image in the world. And to make it happen, he enlists the help of a strong, independent woman.
It’s a big job, but someone’s got to bring Siam into the 19th century.
The task falls to a British schoolmistress in “The King and I,” opening tonight at Little Theatre on the Bay in North Bend.
In 1862, Anna Leonowens (Kerry Oxford) sets sail from Singapore to Bangkok to take a new job at the royal palace, homeschooling the king’s children. The culture shock begins from the moment she arrives with her son, Louis (Rachel Sheldon), when he spots the shirtless official coming to greet them.
In real life, the king had ended 10 years earlier the practice of requiring men doing business in his court to appear bare-chested, which was intended to prevent them from carrying concealed weapons. Good thing for Anna he got over that fear, because she has enough room to hide heavy artillery under her voluminous dress.
But before she gets the chance to meet him, trouble arises when the Kralahome (Dick Wagner) breaks the news that she’ll be staying at the palace and not, as she was led to believe, a private house. Like Virginia Woolf, she values her space, and isn’t afraid to say so.
But things don’t work that way in Siam. The King (Herb Yussim) engages Anna in a constant battle of wills, as differing expectations about authority leave them bristling at almost every word each other says. However, her influence is clear from the king’s frequent repetition of the first words she taught him: “et cetera, et cetera.”
As they get to know one another, the king’s revelations about conditions in his country range from the eyebrow-raising to the jaw-dropping. Anna is especially offended to learn that the king has recently been given a present by the prince of Burma: Tuptim (Talitha McClary), a slave girl. Anna befriends Tuptim, lending her the book “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” and helping her arrange secret meetings with LunTha (Clint Guevara), the prince’s emissary who delivered her to Siam and fell in love with her along the way.
The societal stratification of Siam is evident in the king’s family: He has “only” 67 children by dozens of wives. But Anna will be teaching only those who are in favor with him, with the help of Lady Thiang (Leatha Gonzalez), mother of the crown prince Chulalongkorn (Chris Seldon).
But the king wouldn’t have hired Anna if he weren’t interested in progress. And some steps toward Westernization have been made already: The official language of the palace is broken English.
In class, Anna finds it isn’t easy to overcome her students’ traditional ideas when she presents information that conflicts with their fables.
The inherent conflict in Anna’s mission is that enlightenment comes at a price, at least for absolute monarchs, who didn’t outlast the knowledge revolution in Europe. Of course, the king wants his modernity and his dominion, too. Anna finds herself impressed by the king’s strides toward change and bewildered by his obstinate stagnation, especially regarding the status of women.
After all, as even George W. Bush implicitly acknowledged in promising to liberate the women of Afghanistan from the Taliban, feminism is what separates us from the animals. And the king doesn’t want his people to be seen as barbarians.
A pending visit by a British diplomat (director Neville Cordell) lends urgency to the project of modernizing Siam, because the king believes he must quash the barbarian rumor or risk imperial invasion.
As for Anna and the king, the hope for them learning to get along lies in her recognizing that he is far more concerned with the appearance of authority than the reality of it. She might not have to give up her independence if all he really wants is someone to hold her head lower than his.
NORTH BEND — The nation’s leader wants change.
Seen by his people as a visionary, he aims to remake his country’s image in the world. And to make it happen, he enlists the help of a strong, independent woman.
It’s a big job, but someone’s got to bring Siam into the 19th century.
The task falls to a British schoolmistress in “The King and I,” opening tonight at Little Theatre on the Bay in North Bend.
In 1862, Anna Leonowens (Kerry Oxford) sets sail from Singapore to Bangkok to take a new job at the royal palace, homeschooling the king’s children. The culture shock begins from the moment she arrives with her son, Louis (Rachel Sheldon), when he spots the shirtless official coming to greet them.
In real life, the king had ended 10 years earlier the practice of requiring men doing business in his court to appear bare-chested, which was intended to prevent them from carrying concealed weapons. Good thing for Anna he got over that fear, because she has enough room to hide heavy artillery under her voluminous dress.
But before she gets the chance to meet him, trouble arises when the Kralahome (Dick Wagner) breaks the news that she’ll be staying at the palace and not, as she was led to believe, a private house. Like Virginia Woolf, she values her space, and isn’t afraid to say so.
But things don’t work that way in Siam. The King (Herb Yussim) engages Anna in a constant battle of wills, as differing expectations about authority leave them bristling at almost every word each other says. However, her influence is clear from the king’s frequent repetition of the first words she taught him: “et cetera, et cetera.”
As they get to know one another, the king’s revelations about conditions in his country range from the eyebrow-raising to the jaw-dropping. Anna is especially offended to learn that the king has recently been given a present by the prince of Burma: Tuptim (Talitha McClary), a slave girl. Anna befriends Tuptim, lending her the book “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” and helping her arrange secret meetings with LunTha (Clint Guevara), the prince’s emissary who delivered her to Siam and fell in love with her along the way.
The societal stratification of Siam is evident in the king’s family: He has “only” 67 children by dozens of wives. But Anna will be teaching only those who are in favor with him, with the help of Lady Thiang (Leatha Gonzalez), mother of the crown prince Chulalongkorn (Chris Seldon).
But the king wouldn’t have hired Anna if he weren’t interested in progress. And some steps toward Westernization have been made already: The official language of the palace is broken English.
In class, Anna finds it isn’t easy to overcome her students’ traditional ideas when she presents information that conflicts with their fables.
The inherent conflict in Anna’s mission is that enlightenment comes at a price, at least for absolute monarchs, who didn’t outlast the knowledge revolution in Europe. Of course, the king wants his modernity and his dominion, too. Anna finds herself impressed by the king’s strides toward change and bewildered by his obstinate stagnation, especially regarding the status of women.
After all, as even George W. Bush implicitly acknowledged in promising to liberate the women of Afghanistan from the Taliban, feminism is what separates us from the animals. And the king doesn’t want his people to be seen as barbarians.
A pending visit by a British diplomat (director Neville Cordell) lends urgency to the project of modernizing Siam, because the king believes he must quash the barbarian rumor or risk imperial invasion.
As for Anna and the king, the hope for them learning to get along lies in her recognizing that he is far more concerned with the appearance of authority than the reality of it. She might not have to give up her independence if all he really wants is someone to hold her head lower than his.
The King and I
Little Theatre on the Bay
Dates: Feb. 6-March 1
Times: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays
Tickets: $12, $10 for students and seniors, $8 for children.
The cast
Music is provided by musical director Ida Jo Gates.
The cast also includes Dan Clark, Jeff Roberts, Anne Clark, Lydia Shaffer-Casa, Theresa Erskine, Shelly Guevara, Lacy Koerber, Betty Robertson, Julianna Seldon, Liz Spona, Jill Hayner-Thompson, McKenzie Brock, Alyssa Carter, Devon Carter, Riley Kirby Brianna Koerber, Marissa Marchant Gavin Medina, Alison Melo, Dakota Moore, Janey Suppes, Maddy Suppes, Emily Carter, Alan Erskine and Alan Spjut.
A ballet sequence features dancers from Dance Umbrella Repertory Company choreographed by Mary Schroeder. The dance cast includes Anna Brecheisen, Emily Carter, Celena Dawson, Emme DePlois, Katherine Earl, Kirsti Gaunt, Julia Ingersoll, Chloe Jordan, Laura LeGesse, Skyler Malamed, Hayley Moore and Lynn Stulz.
Little Theatre on the Bay
Dates: Feb. 6-March 1
Times: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays
Tickets: $12, $10 for students and seniors, $8 for children.
The cast
Music is provided by musical director Ida Jo Gates.
The cast also includes Dan Clark, Jeff Roberts, Anne Clark, Lydia Shaffer-Casa, Theresa Erskine, Shelly Guevara, Lacy Koerber, Betty Robertson, Julianna Seldon, Liz Spona, Jill Hayner-Thompson, McKenzie Brock, Alyssa Carter, Devon Carter, Riley Kirby Brianna Koerber, Marissa Marchant Gavin Medina, Alison Melo, Dakota Moore, Janey Suppes, Maddy Suppes, Emily Carter, Alan Erskine and Alan Spjut.
A ballet sequence features dancers from Dance Umbrella Repertory Company choreographed by Mary Schroeder. The dance cast includes Anna Brecheisen, Emily Carter, Celena Dawson, Emme DePlois, Katherine Earl, Kirsti Gaunt, Julia Ingersoll, Chloe Jordan, Laura LeGesse, Skyler Malamed, Hayley Moore and Lynn Stulz.
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The World generally does not edit comments, but we reserve the right to edit any comment that does not meet our standards.