Silly Little Country

The King and I

Late last week one of my sisters sent me a note saying her son, my nephew, would be appearing in a production of "The King and I". (It would be a better link on IBDB but it does not show up there today.)
I initially ignored the note but then my wife and I decided, as neither of us had ever seen the show, that this would be a great chance to experience yet more Rodgers and Hammerstein. So we drove the hundreds of miles to Sudbury, Ontario, to see the Theatre Cambrian production.
The ambiance at the theatre and in the show's programme made me worry a bit about amateurism, but from the moment the show started, I realized that, while this may be an amateur effort, the level of the performance was utterly professional.
This is an enormously complicated production, carried off brilliantly by the company that did it. A very large cast got its blocking and singing wonderfully. The lead performers were spectacular. I had never heard before of Rebecca Chevrier, who played Anna, but I sure hope I do in the future! She was superb.
She was not alone; the whole cast sang, with wonderful diction (yes, I am a bigot about that - and so I salute the singing coach - K. C. Rautiaienen). It is a very rare experience for me watching a musical and understanding every word sung on stage - I experienced that in this show! Thank you!
Keith Crigger was a superb King - he conveyed the conflicts of the poor guy wonderfully. Dawn-Luv McNaughton sang Tuptim, and performed her excellently. And Patricia Park, clearly the driver in many ways of this show, sang Lady Tiang delightfully; the 'Wonderful' song broke my heart each time she sang it. What a privilege to be able to see this show!
The whole supporting cast were solid and on the spot. It was a delight to watch, especially my nephew Robert.
Thanks to my sister and nephew for making this possible for us.
For those who know Sudbury, I will report that I bought two arms'lengths of 50/50s and missed winning by 150 numbers. Grr.
Let me plug also the bed and breakfast we stayed at - should you need to go to Sudbury try these hosts out : Sudbury South Suites and B&B.

Labels: Sudbury Rodgers and Hammerstein Rebecca Chevrier

posted by Alan Adamson @ 5:06 PM