The King And I Tickets

This musical, based on Margaret Landon's best-selling 1944 novel, Anna and the King of Siam, is itself based on a true story. This factual story was drawn from Anna Leonowens' memoirs. Anna Leonowens was the governess to the then King of Siam, King Mongkut, hired in 1860 to teach the children of the King of Siam. Her memoirs, as well as the novel, describe this period in detail. The story and the musical follow Anna, a British schoolteacher, who works as a governess as part of the King of Siam's plan to modernize his country. The story then follows the relationship between the King and Anna, a turbulent relationship that also has its loving moments.

The story and the setting result in an entertaining and very emotional story, something truly unique. This amazing musical, The King & I, debuted on Broadway at the St James Theatre in 1951 and has since seen numerous performances. The idea for the musical itself was by Fanny Holtzmann, a theatrical attorney managing his client, one of the leading ladies of her time, Gertrude Lawrence. While looking for a role for his actress client, he suddenly came to the conclusion that Margaret London's recently published book would be the perfect act for his actress and so he contacted Hammerstein and Rodgers. Despite being reluctant at first, this duo and their team started work on the musical and drafted in actor Yul Brynner to play the role of the king.

In a short time, the musical was completed and saw its premiere hardly a year later at the St James Theatre on Broadway. This stage musical was an instant hit; it immediately won three Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Actress (Gertrude Lawrence), and Best Featured Actor (Yul Brynner). In only three years, this musical had seen a record 1,246 performances, a very impressive figure for such a short time. It had a spectacular tour all over America as well as across the ocean to London, and in 1956, a hit movie was released. This movie also featured Yul Brynner as King Mongkut, a role for which he won an Academy Award.

This stage musical, with an Oscar-winning movie to its name, has since seen many revivals and numerous tours, including many runs on Broadway. The main character in the musical is a historical figure, and her origins were shrouded in much mystery. Being dark-skinned at that time, Anna Leonowens did not reveal her origins, but it was later found out that she had a mix of European and Asian heritage as the daughter of a clerk and hotel keeper's widow and a soldier from the Indian Army. With such a mystery and a story filled with suspense, it is no wonder that thousands have fallen in love with this musical, and it has won many awards over the years, including a record five Tony Awards. Thus, this is a musical that should definitely be seen live, through the use of The King & I tickets.