Darren Lee (Hackers, Chicago, Guys and Dolls) and Helen George (Call the Midwife), who played The King of Siam and schoolteacher Anna Leonowens in the U.K. tour of the recent Broadway and London revival of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II’s The King and I, continue in those roles when the production plays a West End encore run beginning January 20.
The classic musical is playing a limited engagement at London's Dominion Theatre through March 2.
READ: The King and I's Darren Lee Says Current World Leaders Could Take a Lesson From the Musical
The production, which was filmed in the West End starring Tony winner Kelli O’Hara, Tony and Oscar nominee Ken Watanabe, and Tony winner Ruthie Ann Miles, is again directed by Tony winner Bartlett Sher.
The London cast also features Cezarah Bonner as Lady Thiang, Sam Jenkins-Shaw as Capt. Orton/Sir Edward Ramsay, Dean John-Wilson as Lun Tha, Caleb Lagayan as Prince Chulalongkorn, Kok-Hwa Lie as Kralahome, Marienella Phillips as Tuptim, and Maria Coyne as the alternate Anna Leonowens.
The ensemble includes Chi Chan, Jeffrey Chekai, Emily Grace-Ling, Cher Nicolette Ho, Rachel Wang-Hei Lau, Daniel Len, Candy Ma, Rachel MacDougall, Amelia Kinu Muus, Yuki Ozeki, Kitt Pakapom, Hiromi Toyooka, Jasmine Triadi, Jensen Tudtud, Qinwen Xue, and Jason Yang-Westland with onstage swings Emmauel Duarte, Misa Koide, Prem Rai, and Ria Tanaka.
Josh Bortoloso, Fin Goodman, Louis Levy, and Charlie McGuire alternate in the role of Louis Leonowens, and the Royal Children are played by Alexander Chin, Cody Concha, James Javier, Alana Baharil Koppen, Kanaho Kurihara, Sanna Kurihara, Caitlin Lau, Ruby-Mae Lewis, Khun Cho Lwin, Grace Mugridge, Angelica Quynh An Nguyen, Sabri Leonel Puci, Myles Tullett, and Phoebe Zhao-Welsh.
Producer Howard Panter said in an earlier statement, “Our last London residency of this multi award-winning production at the London Palladium broke box-office records, received critical acclaim, and enjoyed standing ovations at every show—we were overwhelmed with the rapturous response. So we are thrilled to bring Helen George and Darren Lee, who played The King in the Broadway production, to the Dominion next year and offer West End audiences the chance to experience this wonderous production once more. This really is musical theatre at its very best.“
The tour launched February 4, 2023, at the Canterbury Marlowe Theatre.
The creative team also includes choreographer Christopher Gattelli, U.S. musical supervisor Ted Sperling, set designer Michael Yeargan, costume designer Catherine Zuber, lighting designer Donald Holder, sound designer Scott Lehrer, orchestrator Robert Russell Bennett with dance and incidental music by Trude Rittmann, U.K. musical supervisor Stephen Ridley, and casting director Serena Hill.
Also on the team: Palladium and first international tour casting director James Orange, U.S. associate directors Samantha Saltzman and Jenn Rae Moore, U.S. associate choreographer Greg Zane, U.S. associate set designer Mikiko Suzuki Macadams, U.S. assistant costume designer Patrick Bevilacqua, U.K. associate costume designer Yvonne Milnes, U.S. associate lighting designer Karen Spahn, U.K. associate lighting designer Rob Casey, U.S. hair and make-up designer Tom Watson, U.K. associate sound designer Ken Hampton, hair, wigs, and make-up designers Campbell Young Associates, resident director Phil Bartlett, resident choreographer Yuki Ozeki, children’s casting director Debbie O’Brien, children’s casting and administrator Harry Blumenau, children’s administrator Claire Cassidy, prop supervisor Mary Halliday, wig supervisor Helen Keane for Campbell Young Associates, U.K. associate costume supervisor Rosemary Elliott-Dancs, fight director Jonathan Holby, dialect coach Izo FitzRoy, dance captain Prem Rai, assistant dance captain Cher Nicolette Ho, and fight captain Daniel Len.
The revival first opened at Lincoln Center Theater's Vivian Beaumont April 16, 2015, going on to win Tonys for Best Revival of a Musical, O'Hara and Miles' performances, and costume designer Zuber.
Visit KingandIMusical.co.uk.
