50 years ago: The King and I opened on Broadway

The King and I Richard Rodgers (music), Oscar Hammerstein II (lyrics)

Cast Album

Stage Debut: March 29, 1951 Charted: May 26, 1951 Peak: 2 US Sales (in millions): -- Genre: show tunes

Soundtrack

Released: June 11, 1956 Peak: 11 US, 148 UK Sales (in millions): 2.0 US Genre: show tunes

Songs: Overture I Whistle a Happy Tune My Lord and Master Hello, Young Lovers March of the Siamese Children A Puzzlement Getting to Know You We Kiss in a Shadow/ I Have Dreamed Shall I Tell You What I Think of You? Something Wonderful Song of the King Shall We Dance? Something Wonderful (Finale) Singles/Hit Songs: As was common in the pre-rock era, songs from musicals were often recorded by artists not associated with the musical and released as singles. Here are some of the most notable hit singles resulting from the show: “We Kiss in a Shadow” – Frank Sinatra (#22, 1951) ”Hello, Young Lovers” – Perry Como (#27, 1951)

Rating: 4.440 out of 5.00 (average of 7 ratings for cast album and soundtrack combined) Quotable: “One of the all-time greats among musicals.” – Daily Variety Awards (Cast Album): (Click on award to learn more). Awards (Soundtrack): (Click on award to learn more).

About the Show: The King and I was the fifth collaboration for Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical came about when Fanny Holtzmann, a theatrical attorney, was looking for a part for her client, Gertrude Lawrence. Holtzmann thought Margaret Landon’s 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam, would be a perfect vehicle and contacted Rodgers & Hammerstein. WK The novel was based on the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, a British widow and school teacher who, in the 1860s, served as governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam. WK She was hired as part of the king’s effort to modernize his country WK and tutor him in how to become a cultivated English gentleman. DF The musical is marked by the conflict between the king and Anna and the love which neither can admit. WK Rodgers was concerned that “the aging Lawrence had a voice of limited range and she was notorious for singing flat.” DF They’d also never written a show designed for a specific performer, and had tried to liberate Broadway of that very habit. DF However, Rodgers, later wrote, of some of the appealing elements of the story: “there was the contrast between Eastern and Western cultures…there was the intangibility of the attraction between teacher and king…there was the warmth of the relationship between Anna and her royal pupils; there was the theme of democratic teachings triumphing over autocratic rule.” DF However, they were still challenged to find a worthy co-star. Rex Harrison played the part in a 1946 film based on Landon’s book – but he was unavailable. WK Alfred Drake and Noel Coward, Lawrence’s oldest and dearest friend, were also considered. DF They ended up holding auditions and the first candidate was an actor named Yul Brynner, whose only Broadway musical credit was in Lute Song, a failed 1946 show starring Mary Martin. DF Rodgers had never heard of him, but wrote about his first impression. He “was a bald, muscular fellow with a bony, Oriental face…He looked savage, he sounded savage, and there was no denying that he projected a feeling of controlled ferocity. When he read for us…Oscar and I looked at each other and nodded…we had our king.” DF The musical debuted at Broadway’s St. James Theatre on March 29, 1951. WK Brynner was an overnight sensation and Lawrence “was once again the toast of Broadway.” DF They both won Tonys for their performances; The King and I was also given the Tony for Best Musical. With a run of nearly three years, it became, at the time, the fourth longest-running Broadway musical in history. WK The 1956 film version was, at the time, the most expensive film to date for 20th Century Fox. DF Brynner was tapped to reprise his role, but Lawrence died of cancer on September 6, 1952, so was replaced by Deborah Kerr, at Brynner’s urging. DF “She had the gracious quality of an English lady, but her powerful performances in From Here to Eternity on the screen and Tea and Sympathy on the stage had the kind of sexual tension that Brynner wanted to emphasize in the relationship between Anna and the King.” DF “Chemistry sizzled between…Brynner and…Kerr…, and the rich multilayered story had an emotional pull that was rare in film musicals. The film made breathtaking use of color and of a new widescreen photographic process called Cinemascope 55. The format’s enhanced sound quality provided a sumptuous setting for the Rodgers and Hammerstein score.” DF Daily Variety called it the “Blockbuster of the year. One of the all-time greats among musicals. Sure to wow all classes and nations. Socko in all departments: story, performances, production, score.” DF The film was nominated for nine Academy Awards, winning nine – including Best Actor for Yul Brynner.

Resources and Related Links: DF David Foil, liner notes from CD of The King and I soundtrack (1956/1993). WK Wikipedia Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 8/11/2008; last updated 12/22/2021.

50 years ago: Carousel opened on Broadway

Carousel Richard Rodgers (music), Oscar Hammerstein II (lyrics)

Cast Album

Stage Debut: April 19, 1945 Recorded: May 11-21, 1945 Charted: July 21, 1945 Peak: 16 US Sales (in millions): -- Genre: show tunes

Soundtrack

Charted: February 25, 1956 Peak: 2 US, 16 UK Sales (in millions): 1.0 US Genre: show tunes

Songs on Cast Album: Song Title (Performers) Waltz Suite: Carousel (CAROUSEL ORCHESTRA) You’re a Queer One, Julie Jordan/ Mister Snow (JEAN DARLING/ JAN CLAYTON) If I Loved You (JAN CLAYTON/ JOHN RAITT) June Is Bustin’ Out All Over When the Children Are Asleep Blow High, Blow Low (MURVYN VYE) Soliloquy A Real Nice Clambake There’s Nothin’ So Bad for a Woman c What’s the Use of Won’rin’ (MURVYN VYE/ CONNIE BAXTER/ JAN CLAYTON) The Highest Judge of All c/ You’ll Never Walk Alone Songs only on cast album. Songs on Soundtrack: Song Title (Performers) Carousel Waltz (ORCHESTRA) You’re a Queer One, Julie Jordan (BARBARA RUICK/ SHIRLEY JONES) Mister Snow (BARBARA RUICK) If I Loved You (SHIRLEY JONES/ GORDON MacRAE) June Is Bustin’ Out All Over (CLARAMAE TURNER/ BARBARA RUICK/ MIXED CHORUS) Soliloquy (GORDON MacRAE) Blow High, Blow Low (CAMERON MITCHELL/ MEN’S CHORUS) When the Children Are Asleep (ROBERT ROUNSEVILLE/ BARBARA RUICK) A Real Nice Clambake (BARBARA RUICK/ CLARAMAE TURNER/ MIXED CHORUS) Stonecutters Cut It on Stone (CAMERON MITCHELL/ MIXED CHORUS) s What’s the Use of Won’rin’ (SHIRLEY JONES/ MIXED CHORUS) You’ll Never Walk Alone (CLARAMAE TURNER) If I Loved You (Reprise) (GORDON MacRAE) s You’ll Never Walk Alone (Finale) (SHIRLEY JONES/ MIXED CHORUS) s s Songs only on soundtrack. Singles/Hit Songs: As was common in the pre-rock era, songs from musicals were often recorded by artists not associated with the musical and released as singles. Here are some of the most notable hit singles resulting from the show: ”If I Loved You” – Perry Como (#3, 1945), Frank Sinatra (#7, 1945), Bing Crosby (#8, 1945), Harry James (#8, 1945), Roy Hamilton (#26, 1954) ”You’ll Never Walk Alone” – Frank Sinatra (#9, 1945), Judy Garland (#21, 1946), Roy Hamilton (#21, 1954) ”June Is Bustin’ Out All Over” – Hildegarde with Guy Lombardo (#11, 1945)

Rating: 4.503 out of 5.00 (average of 11 ratings for cast album and soundtrack combined) Awards (Cast Album and Soundtrack): (Click on award to learn more).

About the Show: “Decca Records scored a significant commercial success with its album of songs from Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II’s first musical, Oklahoma!, performed by members of the original cast. So, the label was interested in releasing a similar recording of the songwriters’ next musical, Carousel.” WR “The new show was a darker effort than Oklahoma!, based on the tragic play Liliom, even though Hammerstein had the two leads marry and considerably softened the ending. One element he did retain was the story’s lustiness, especially evident in one of the score’s hit songs, June Is Bustin’ out All Over.” WR “Rodgers’ music was characteristically tuneful, and the cast, led by John Raitt in his Broadway debut, was excellent. The score produced standards in the hits If I Loved You and You’ll Never Walk Alone, as well as the epic Soliloquy, a revolutionary recitative in which Raitt, as Billy Bigelow, undergoes a character transformation as he anticipates the birth of his child.” WR “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s stature, and the show’s outstanding music, helped it to a Broadway run of 890 performances after it opened in New York in 1945. The cast recording shared in this success; it topped the recently instituted album charts, and Decca (later succeeded by MCA) kept it in print through a series of reissues over the years.” WR The soundtrack “benefits from Gordon MacRae’s powerful performance in the lead role of Billy Bigelow. MacRae was cast in the role when director Henry King’s first choice, Frank Sinatra, fell through, and is clearly the highlight of the recording.” EC “Not every cast member is as reliable. Shirley Jones as Bigelow’s wife has a tendency to overact her songs in a way that is more grating on record than in the film. The same mugging plagues the performance of the chorus on the classic song ‘June Is Bustin’ out All Over.’” EC “The other major chorus numbers don’t require overacting to be grating. Some critics complained that the film was missing some of the best songs from the Broadway version of Carousel. The problem may not have been that songs were cut, but that they cut the wrong songs. The tedious ‘Soliloquy’ is probably necessary to advance the action, but it’s certainly not as tuneful as the absent Blow High, Blow Low. And surely the show would hold up without the dopey A Real Nice Clambake. No doubt most fans would happily exchange it for a few more reprises of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone.’” EC Notes: A reissue of the cast album added alternate versions of “You’re a Queer One, Julie Jordan/ Mister Snow,” “There’s Nothin’ So Bad for a Woman/ What’s the Use of Won’rin’,” and “Waltz Suite: Carousel.”

Resources and Related Links: EC Evan Cater, All Music Guide s WR William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide c Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 12/1/2009; last updated 12/21/2021.