The romance could never be overt. Still, at the end of the day, it is the relationship between the titular characters in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “The King and I,” and the actors who play them, that can make or break any new incarnation of this beloved musical.
On the opening show of the extended run of “The King and I” in Newport Theater, Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo and Nonie Buencamino, who respectively play lead characters Anna Leonowens and King Mongkut, reveal that they were—gasp—still “winging it.”
At the recent “Mint Knows Monique” lecture at Meridian International College last week, students and fans got to know Monique Wilson on a deeper level—from her naughty childhood moments and her life in London during “Miss Saigon” to her unwavering passion for theater and her One Billion Rising campaign against violence against women.
It took only one night in Bangkok to discover the perfect female body. Dita Von Teese, the renowned Queen of Burlesque, showed off her most graceful and curvaceous form in a one-night show in Bangkok’s posh Peninsula Hotel.
My fascination with theater began at a very young age. I clearly remember watching “The King and I” at the Meralco Theater and being enthralled by the singing children and of course, the King of Siam and Anna.
When the star of “The King and I,” Leo Valdez, takes off his shirt and bares his chest to whip a slave girl, he’ll be showing off his 29-inch waistline and a lean runner’s body.
Resorts World Manila is staging the musical “The King and I,” with Leo Valdes and Bo Cerrudo as King Mongkut and Monique Wilson and Sheila Valderrama as Anna, starting this September.
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