BTSCelebs loved “The King and I” cast’s spectacular performance at the Lyric Opera of Chicago today. The adult and child actors excelled in their roles from the original 1950s classic. Actor Paolo Montalban shined as the arrogant and controlling King of Siam, while actress Kate Baldwin was very believable as Anna. I honestly can’t tell you whose acting impressed me the most: the adults or the children. Young actor Matthew Uzarraga (Crown Prince Chulalongkorn) almost stole the show with his powerful performance and witty delivery.  Plus,  Tuptim (actress Ali Ewoldt) and Lun Tha’s (Sam Simahk) love story was so heartbreaking it silenced the audience.

Lyric Opera’s ” The King and I” was true to the original Rodgers and Hammerstein production with the emphasis on religion and cultural differences. They sang everyone’s favorite songs like “Shall We Dance” and “Getting to Know You”.

I was a big fan of Paolo’s Prince portrayal in “Cinderella”, but I was a little disappointed he used such a distinct accent that we didn’t get the opportunity to hear his beautiful singing voice. I would have loved to hear Paolo’s natural voice for his musical numbers.

In short, I didn’t remember the original play being so focused on religion…so I was a little taken aback by that. Nonetheless, I applaud the cast on effortless, picture perfect performance. They deserves ten stars on their stunning portrayal of the iconic and historic characters.

You can catch a performance of “The King and I” thru May 22 at the Civic Opera House in Chicago.

BTSCelebs sends a special thanks to The Silverman Group and the Lyric Opera of Chicago for giving BTSCelebs the opportunity to review “The King and I”. Photo credits belongs to Todd Rosenberg.