Bartlett Sher isn’t afraid to take on giants.
The Tony-winning director has been at the helm of revivals of much-loved musicals such as “South Pacific” and “Fiddler on the Roof,” and he is currently directing “My Fair Lady,” which opens on Broadway in April. He also directed Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “The King and I,” which opens Tuesday, March 13, at Centennial Hall, courtesy of Broadway in Tucson.
“I’m a big fan of Rodgers and Hammerstein, and I think it’s one of the great musicals,” Sher said in a phone interview from New York City.
“It’s lavish, beautiful, and it has enormous heart.”
In the story, it is 1852 and a widow, Anna, goes to Siam to teach the multiple children of the king, who has multiple wives. Anna has a feminist streak, the king most definitely does not. There are clashes, romance, comedy, and that gorgeous music: “Hello Young Lovers” and “I Have Dreamed” are among the tunes that will set you soaring.
But it has also been accused of Orientalism, which was romanticized when the play first opened in 1951, and called offensive with its white-savior attitude.
Sher would have none of that in his version, which opened on Broadway in 2015 and snagged several awards, including a Tony for best revival of a musical.
He minimized the exotic aspects of the show in order to make its essence clear: “How to educate women in developing countries,” he said. “How to address change, how to transition from a traditional culture to a modern one.”
And it appears he has done that.
Sher has “shed a light that isn’t harsh or misty but clarifying,” said the New York Times in praising the musical.
“The King and I” is 7:30 p.m. March 13-15; 8 p.m. March 16; 2 and 8 p.m. March 17, and 1 and 6:30 p.m. March 18 at Centennial Hall, 1020 E. University Blvd. on the University of Arizona campus. It runs 2 hours, 55 minutes, with one intermission. Tickets are $29-$125 at broadwayintucson.com or 1-800-745-3000. To avoid the hefty Ticketmaster service charge, purchase tickets in person at the Centennial Hall Box Office. And make sure you are going through these two official ticket sellers: Scalpers love snapping up tickets, jacking the price way up, and selling them online.
