Washington Post - Highly Recommended
"...Olney Theatre Center offers up a fine holiday bauble in its sparkly staging of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "The King and I," that enduring chestnut of a musical that debuted on Broadway in 1951."
DC Theater Arts - Highly Recommended
"...A magical and enchanting production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I makes its way to the stage at Olney Theatre Center as the final production in their 75th Anniversary Season. The classic tale of the King of Siam set in the 1860s spins brightly into the hearts of audience members young and young at heart with all of the classic songs from this wonderful and popular score. Directed by Mark Waldrop with Musical Direction by Jenny Cartney, this sensational production is just in time for the holiday season and is perfect for the entire family."
WeLoveDC - Recommended
"...Although it is one of the great classics of musical theatre, The King and I suffers from the same dilemma as many period pieces, in that there is very limited creative license a production can take. Set in 1863 Bangkok, and dealing with very specific cultural and social tensions between the British Empire and Siam, directors and designers have a finite window of options in order to adhere to the integrity of the script. A talented cast, great direction, and stellar designers certainly improve the quality of the show, but that tends to be the only distinction between productions, which is why I feel like this show as a whole falls under the adage "you've seen one, you've seen 'em all." If you're wanting to see something new and innovative, this isn't it. That eing said, if you are a fan of the 1956 film, love the music from the show, or have simply enjoyed previous productions of The King and I, you'll love Olney Theatre Center's production, since they do have a talented cast, great direction and stellar designers."
ShowBizRadio - Recommended
"...KAI also represents the clearest beginning of R & H's dalliance with cuteness, mercifully absent from shows like Oklahoma and Carousel. Save Chulalongkorn, the children in KAI are present almost entirely to be colorfully cute. The kids in the Olney production, indeed, are cute and hit their marks consistently, but the emotional tone their scenes, as well as that of "I Whistle a Happy Tune," is a lineal ancestor of the sticky sweetness that ultimately overwhelms The Sound of Music."
The Georgetowner - Recommended
"..."The King and I" premiered in 1951, while Americans were fighting a war in Korea, still owning bloody memories of its war with Japan, and only less than a decade ahead of entering the fray in Viet Nam, all of them clashes of cultures, among other things. The King of Siam, long in a line of such kings, is fending off western incursions in the 1860s, including cultural ones that challenge notions of kingship, power and slavery. The West is in his palace in the person of Anna, and her son, hired to tutor the many royal children, including the king's heir. To the king-challenges to his power over his many wives, learning western ways while upholding tradition-it is "a puzzlement," none less than Anna herself, with whom he struggles, interacts, and has a relationship which ripens into friendship if not romance."
DCTheatreScene - Highly Recommended
the gift that Olney Theatre’s production of The King and I gives us is that we are able to see the difficult dance between the English and Siamese cultures through the eyes of the King, thanks to an astonishing performance by Paolo Montalban. I