October 1

GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

evening'sout

Rodgers and Hammerstein classic musical is well done

The King and I

by Richard Rodgers

and Oscar Hammerstein Carousel Dinner Theatre

Reviewed by Eric Resnick

Akron-At first glance, one might not see how there is a gay connection in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Tony Award-winning The King and I, but there is. As with all Rodgers and Hammerstein shows, this musical is about addressing bigotry and phobias through education. and exposure.

The King and I is also about love and going against social expectations to love whomever you want.

And yes, men, there's the skin. The King and I is the only Rodgers and Hammerstein show where the men are shirtless on stage.

"That's because it's authentic," says Joseph Patton, the openly gay director of the Carousel Dinner Theatre production. "The story takes place in Bangkok, and it's hot there."

In producing The King and I, Carousel has spared nothing for the costumes. They were produced for the show's Australian tour, and are valued at over $34 million. The use of real gold and exquisite beadwork is impressive to see.

The cast is impressive, too. This production mixes amateur talent with Equity actors and it works well. The children in this show are as young as four years old and it is quite amazing to see the precision with which they

move on stage.

compromise. He eventually becomes an enlightened king.

The king is not without his manipulators. First, there is Lady Thiang, played by Maureen Taylor. She is the first and most significant of his many wives, and the mother of Crown Prince Chululongkorn, played by Brandon Ramos of Cuyahoga Falls.

The second is his most trusted advisor and prime minister, Kralahome, brilliantly played by openly gay Scott Kitajima.

JOHN TUESDAY

Lun Tha (George Pellegrino) and Tiptum (Sujana Chand) sing "We Kiss in a Shadow."

The music will be familiar to most people, as it is popular. Barbara Streisand included three King and I numbers on her Broadway album, including "We Kiss In a Shadow."

In this production, that song is sung by openly gay George Pellegrino as Lun Tha and Sujana Chand as Tiptum. Pellegrino and Chand really connect on stage. This is one of the best numbers in the show and, as Pellegrino points out, "This is really a gaythemed song."

The King and I is set in Bangkok in 1862, and based on the factual book Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon.

It is about the king facing his fears. The simplicity of his life is challenged when he learns how much he doesn't know about the world in which he must lead his people. Although he is a tyrant, he is a loveable tyrant. He grows as an individual through the relationships he forms, and from learning to

Not Feeling Yourself?

Kitajima says that the most successful way to play his part is to think of Kralahome as being the king's lover, without the sex.

"Kralahome loves the king," he said. “He loves the man and the power and he protects him. In fact, he is everything to the king that Lady Thiang is, and when the king dies, part of Kralahome dies, too."

The King and I is romantic and sometimes humorous. This production is superb. The leads are competent, if not stellar, and the ensemble works well. Combined with the dinner experience at Carousel, the largest professional dinner theatre in America, it will make you want to whistle a happy tune and be glad you went.

Carousel is located at 1275 East Waterloo Road in Akron. The King and I runs through November 7. For tickets, call the Carousel box office at 330-724-9855 or 800-362-4100.

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