By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Rogdgers and Hammerstein classic “The King and I” might have been a creation of another generation, but it touches on many issues still relevant today.
The Hays Community Theatre is set to perform the “The King and I” at 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center.
The play is directed by Pamela Grizzell and stars her husband, Travis Grizzell, drama director at Thomas More Prep-Marian, as the king and community theater newcomer Anita Walters in the female lead as Anna.
“It is a beautiful story of two cultures and that very thing — getting to know different cultures and different ways of life. And at the heart of that, there is feminism, there’s slavery, there’s the old style of ruling with a monarchy,” Travis Grizzell said. “As old as it is, it is timeless. some of the same things that were separating us back then, we are still fighting now. That with the timeless beautiful music, it is just a great show to come and experience again.”
The community theater has been planning this production for about a year, and bringing the production together has had its challenges.
“It is all volunteer,” Grizzell said. “You are dealing with amateurs who have a day job that is very much not theater usually, and you are handing them the same script that the very best people in the world have utilized on Broadway and West End. To get people there in the evenings and to commit for six to eight weeks and coalesce as a group to the level of performance that these shows demand — it is very taxing.”
Grizzell estimated it had been 30 years since 1951 musical “The King and I” had been staged in Hays, and the community theater thought it was time to bring back the classic. Pam Grizzell was part of the chorus as a high school student when the production was staged at Fort Hays State University in 1985 and was a champion of the show.
Many know the “The King and I” from pervious stage performances or the 1956 screen version staring Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner. Grizzell said portraying such an iconic character is a challenge as an actor.
“It is one of these roles as an actor they try to make you find your own spin on the character and be original, but sometimes you find yourself doing an iconic role that you don’t really want to bring a lot of new stuff to. Dorothy, if you are doing that in ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ people have an expectation they want to see,” Grizzell said.
“This is one to maybe not quite that degree, but it was known for Yul Brynner’s performance, and the man was amazing at it. He happened to be bald, so my wife, the director, lead with, ‘Give people what they expect to see,’ so I am down a hair or two. You do find yourself on that line between acting and imitating. Inevitably, it is going to be your own and what you bring to it.”
The cast is large — 35 people — with ages ranging from a baby who is playing one of the king’s children to actresses in their 50s playing the king’s wives.
“It is a pretty massive undertaking,” Grizzell said. “It is all volunteer. Everyone is doing it for the good of the community and the good of the community theater and to just give people the opportunity to showcase their talents and present something good for our community here.”
The sets are not as elaborate as those for last year’s production of “Mary Poppins.” Most of the action for the “King and I” takes place within the Siamese palace. However, portraying Siam in 1862 required extensive costume work, all of which has been done by volunteers, Grizzell said.
“We hope it takes you to a place of royalty and the different place of Siam, and we create that feel of being somewhere else,” he said.
“The King and I” is a production recommended for all ages. Children will be exposed to the spectacle of musical theater, while older audiences may recall the Brynner film performance or occasions when they may have seen the familiar characters portrayed in another venue, Grizzell said.
Tickets cost $15 for adults or $10 for children 12 and younger. They can be purchased online at https://www.hctks.com/ or at the door.
The cast list is below:
Production Director– Pamela Grizzell
Music Director – Monica Rome
Accompanist – Amy Staab
Stage Manager – John Drees
Captain Orton – Chris Norris
Louis Leonowens – Vincent Brack
Anna Leonowens – Anita Walters
The Interpreter – Dylan Werth
Royal Guards: Alexandra Herrman, Annie Wasinger
The Kralahome – David Koshiol
The King – Travis Grizzell
Phra Alek – Tony Lewallen
Lun Tha – Justyce Briney
Tuptim – Katy Walters
Lady Thiang – Jane Rorstrom
Prince Chulalongkorn – Micah Harbough
Princess Ying Yaowalak – Chloe Rice
Sir Edward Ramsey – Dylan Werth
Royal Princes and Princesses: Madighan Norris, Sidney Wittkorn, Dayvean Koshiol, Faith Fondoble, Ainsley Harbaugh, Brynn Harbaugh, Emmalyn Harbaugh, Greta Harbaugh, Annalise Harbaugh, Micah Harbaugh, Jade Harmon, Jordyn Flavin, Isaac Bloom, Janessa Miller, Christian Miller, Malachi Miller, and Connor Miller
Royal Wives: *Sara Bloom, *Wendy Richmeyer, *Joyce Cornwell, *Katherine Leiker, Alexandra Herrman, Annie Wasinger. (*denotes solo)
Priests of Siam: Dylan Werth, Chris Norris, Tony Lewallen
Small House Singing Ensemble: Katherine Leiker, Sara Bloom, Wendy Richmeyer, Joyce Cornwell
Little Eva – Alexandra Herrman
Mischief Maker Topsy – Ainsley Harbaugh
Uncle Thomas – Sydney Wittkorn
Eliza – Annie Wasinger
King Simon of LeGre – Faith Fondoble
George – Connor Miller
Buddah – David Koshiol
Angel – Madighan Norris
Scientific Dogs: Vincent Brack, Dayvian Koshiol, Christian Miller
Dancers representing water, snow, rain, clouds, mountain and forest will be specifically announced later, however they will be comprised of the following: Isaac Bloom, Chloe Rice, Brynn Harbaugh, Emmalyn Harbaugh, Greta Harbaugh, Annalise Harbaugh, Micah Harbaugh, Jade Harmon, Janessa Miller, Malachi Miller
