Following the critically acclaimed Broadway smash hit run of the The King and I and its box-office sold-out record breaking season at the world famous London Palladium, comes the announcement that the multi Tony Award winning production will now embark on a major UK tour from Spring 2019.
This production will open in Manchester in April 2019, and then visit Dublin, Sunderland, Edinburgh, Leeds, Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, Hull, Milton Keynes, Liverpool, Bristol, Woking and Southampton. Casting will be announced in early 2019.
The news of the tour comes hot off the heels of the cinema release of the live production of The King and I : From The London Palladium which has become the biggest live event in cinemas of 2018 following last week’s first global screenings.
Acclaimed Tony Award-winning Bartlett Sher will once again direct the production and be reunited with the celebrated creative team that brought this majestic production of The King and I to life at the Palladium earlier this year.
Kelli O’Hara and Ken Waltanare in the West End version of The King and I, the musical will go on a UK tour with a yet to be confirmed cast in 2019 Picture: Matthew Murphy.
Set in 1860s Bangkok, the musical tells the story of the unconventional and tempestuous relationship that develops between the King of Siam and Anna Leonowens, a British schoolteacher whom the modernist King, in an imperialistic world, brings to Siam to teach his many wives and children.
With one of the finest scores ever written including: Whistle a Happy Tune, Getting to Know You and Shall We Dance, featuring a company of over 50 world-class performers, and full-scale orchestra, The King and I is a testament to the lavish heritage of gloriously romantic musical theatre – it is the greatest musical from the golden age of musicals.
Producer Howard Panter says: “The response from London audiences to this multi award-winning production of The King and I was unprecedented. Critical plaudits, Box Office records and standing ovations at every show – we were overwhelmed with the rapturous response. Coupled with the reaction to the Global cinema screenings of the film version – which is the biggest theatre event in cinemas of the year and number one at the Box Office. “
“This really is musical theatre at its very best, so we are thrilled that we can now share this wonderous production with theatre lovers up and down the country next year.”
-
The King and I will play Cardiff Millennium Centre from January 8 – January 18, 2020
“