Rodgers and Hammerstein

Rodgers and Hammerstein were an American songwriting duo consisting of Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960). They are most famous for creating a string of immensely popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s, in what is considered the golden age of their medium, including five shows that were legendary successes: Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I and The Sound of Music. Over the course of their collaboration, their work and its adaptations garnered 34 Tony Awards, 15 Academy Awards, two Pulitzer Prizes, two Grammy Awards, and two Emmy Awards, among other theater accolades.

The King and I

Based on Margaret Landon's Anna and the King of Siam, the autobiographical story of Anna Leonowens, governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in the early 1860s, Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical The King and I opened on Broadway on March 29, 1951 and starred Gertrude Lawrence as Anna, and a mostly unknown Yul Brynner as the King.

Related Topics:
Margaret Landon - Anna and the King of Siam - Anna Leonowens - Mongkut - Siam - 1860s - Broadway - 1951 - Gertrude Lawrence - Yul Brynner

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It was later adapted for film, in 1956 with Brynner re-creating his role opposite Deborah Kerr. Brynner won an Oscar as Best Actor for his portrayal, and Kerr was nominated as Best Actress. Brynner reprised the role twice on Broadway in 1977 and 1985, and in a short-lived TV sitcom in 1972, Anna and the King.

Related Topics:
1956 - Deborah Kerr - Oscar - Best Actor - Best Actress - 1977 - 1985 - 1972

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Musical Numbers

Act I

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• Overture
• I Whistle a Happy Tune
• My Lord and Master
• March of the Siamese Children
• Hello Young Lovers
• A Puzzlement
• Getting to Know You
• We Kiss In a Shadow
• Shall I Tell You What I Think of You?
• Something Wonderful
• Praise to Buddha

Act II

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• The Small House of Uncle Thomas (Siamese ballet)
• Shall We Dance?
• Something Wonderful (reprise)