Thursday night was a night of firsts for me. It was my first time at the 5th Avenue Theatre [5th], and also my first time seeing Rogers and Hammerstein’s The King and I. Both should be surprising given my thespian background, but there you have it. It is fortunate that this production is happening at the 5th Ave, because the Asian-inspired decor lends itself beautifully to the setting of the show.

Stefanie Powers, best-known for the 80s television series Hart to Hart, stars as Anna Leonowens, a widowed schoolteacher who comes to Siam to teach the children of King Monkut. Her singing is clear and her accent is passable, but she is continually a frantic, forceful schoolteacher, and never a contemplative, conflicted woman, which leads to a very energetic, but one-dimensional portrayal of Anna.

The combination of the Siamese accent and the augmented vocals echoing in the theatre makes it difficult to pick out many of the lyrics during Monkut’s musical numbers, but the role is played with a nice dynamic, and he comes across as strong and willful, yet sincere. Tuptim has a skilled soprano voice, but it seems a bit too mature for the young, romantic character. Lady Thian is a knockout. She was well cast, and her rich, resonant vocals are mesmerizing.

Vivid silks and sparkling jewels adorn the royal family of Siam. Anna’s costumes include quite possibly the largest hoop skirt I’ve ever seen, but Ms. Powers curtsies, kowtows, twirls, polkas, and throws herself across the stage with ease. Siamese murals, prints, and brightly-colored panels decorate the set pieces which slide in from the sides, or fly in from the rafters quickly and seamlessly. There was one mis-cue with the lights, but it was otherwise unremarkable, which is the evidence of being well done.

The highlight of the show is the play-within-a-play, “The Small House of Uncle Thomas,” narrated by Tuptim, who adapted the performance from Uncle Tom’s Cabin in order to protest the degrading treatment of the women and servants in Siam. It is both enchanting and provoking at the same time, and the choreography seems to be taken straight from the 1956 movie starring Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr (stand-in voice by Marni Nixon).[imdb]

The audience wasn’t too terrible this time around, though there was a lot of coming and going during the show. I was pleased to see that people were dressed appropriately for the theatre, which isn’t often the case in our too-casual city. The seven-year-old boy (in a bow tie!) next to me was a joy – wonderfully well-behaved, and moreso than most people four times his age.

The King and I opened on Tuesday, and runs through the 9th of October, and tickets run from $20 – $70. The cheaper seats are just fine, but bring along a pair of opera glasses/binoculars to get a gander at all of the lovely details. If you love classic musicals, this one is worth the price for a balcony seat.