The King and I Reviews

Baltimore Sun- Highly Recommended

"... The strength of this production extends to the supporting cast, which includes a compelling performance by Hoffman as the major court official the Kralahome. Crystal Freeman plays Lady Thiang, the king's favorite wife and mother of the future king; her "Something Wonderful" marks another highlight of many."

MD Theatre Guide- Highly Recommended

"... To see something wonderful head to Toby’s Dinner Theatre of Columbia for their production of Rogers & Hammerstein’s The King and I. The familiar songs and well-loved characters are brought to life before audience’s eyes by a talented cast of actors both young and old who will sing and dance their way right into the hearts of everyone watching. This popular family classic has grand scenery, lavish costumes, and those old familiar tunes including: “I Whistle a Happy Tune,” “Getting to Know You,” and “Shall We Dance?” as a part of a wonderfully enchanting evening at the theatre. Telling the story of Anna, an English woman who has come to Siam as a school teacher to the royal children of the king; the show presents strong themes of love, beauty, growth, and understanding. Directed by Shawn Kettering, with musical direction provided by Ross Rawlings, The King and I will bring audiences to moments of inspired joy, heartfelt sorrow, and ultimately to their feet with thunderous applause by the end of the show."

ExploreHoward- Highly Recommended

"... Whatever your concerns going in, you're guaranteed to go out singing, humming or whistling some of Broadway's most indelible melodies."

DCTheatreScene- Recommended

the company’s production of Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s classic 1951 musical The King and I is a remarkably effective revival of this exotic, tune-filled musical. Even in the limited space of a dinner theater, the production’s strong cast, decent choreography, and colorful, surprisingly elaborate costuming combine into a very strong argument indeed for putting this show on your entertainment calendar.

BroadwayWorld- Highly Recommended

"... The excellent revival of The King and I at Toby’s Columbia provides an opportunity to reexamine a show most of us think we know. Viewed from 60 years on, the musical seems like a logical next step, after South Pacific (1949), in the authors’ consideration of racial privilege and segregation, a topic then coming to a boil in the United States. (Truman had integrated the Armed Forces only three years before, and some of the cases shortly to be consolidated as Brown v. Board of Education were already wending their way through the courts.) Broadway held a much bigger place in the popular culture and the national discourse then than it does now. So Rodgers and Hammerstein could not possibly have failed to weigh their contributions to that discourse, or to be ignorant of the impact those contributions would have."