Anna Harriette Leonowens was an Anglo-Indian or Indian-born British travel writer, educator, and social activist.
The King and I is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel Anna and the King of Siam (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in the early 1860s. The musical's plot relates the experiences of Anna, a British schoolteacher who is hired as part of the King's drive to modernize his country. The relationship between the King and Anna is marked by conflict through much of the piece, as well as by a love to which neither can admit. The musical premiered on March 29, 1951, at Broadway's St. James Theatre. It ran for nearly three years, making it the fourth-longest-running Broadway musical in history at the time, and has had many tours and revivals.
Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their musical theater writing partnership has been called the greatest of the 20th century.
A governess is a term for a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching. In contrast to a nanny, the primary role of a governess is teaching, rather than meeting the physical needs of children; hence a governess is usually in charge of school-aged children, rather than babies.
Mongkut was the fourth king of Siam under the House of Chakri, titled Rama IV. He ruled from 1851 to 1868. His full title in Thai was Phra Poramenthra Ramathibodhi Srisindra Maha Mongkut Phra Chomklao Chao Yu Hua Phra Sayam Thewa Maha Makut Witthaya Maharat.
Anna and the King is a 1999 American biographical period drama film directed by Andy Tennant. Steve Meerson and Peter Krikes loosely based their screenplay on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam, which gives a fictionalized account of the diaries of Anna Leonowens. It stars Jodie Foster as Leonowens, an English school teacher in Siam during the late 19th century, who becomes the teacher of King Mongkut's many children and wives. It was mostly shot in Malaysia, particularly in the Penang, Ipoh and Langkawi regions.
Anna and the King of Siam is an American 1946 drama film directed by John Cromwell. An adaptation of the 1944 novel of the same name by Margaret Landon, it was based on the fictionalized diaries of Anna Leonowens, an Anglo-Indian woman who claimed to be British and became governess in the Royal Court of Siam during the 1860s. Darryl F. Zanuck read Landon's book in galleys and immediately bought the film rights.
Mary Beth Peil is an American actress and soprano. She began her career as an opera singer in 1962 with the Goldovsky Opera Theater. In 1964 she won two major singing competitions, the Young Concert Artists International Auditions and the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions; the latter of which earned her a contract with the Metropolitan Opera National Company with whom she performed in two seasons of national tours as a leading soprano from 1965 to 1967. She continued to perform in operas through the 1970s, notably creating the role of Alma in the world premiere of Lee Hoiby's Summer and Smoke at the Minnesota Opera in 1971. She later recorded that role for American television in 1982. With that same opera company she transitioned into musical theatre, performing the title role of Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate in 1983. Later that year she joined the national tour of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I as Anna Leonowens opposite Yul Brynner, and continued with that production when it opened on Broadway on January 7, 1985. She was nominated for a Tony Award for her portrayal.
Margaret Landon was an American writer known for Anna and the King of Siam, her best-selling 1944 novel of the life of Anna Leonowens which eventually sold over a million copies and was translated into more than twenty languages. In 1950, Landon sold the musical play rights to Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, who created the musical The King and I from her book. A later work, Never Dies the Dream, appeared in 1949.
William Syer Bristowe, who wrote under the name W. S. Bristowe, was an English naturalist, a prolific and popular scientific writer and authority on spiders. He was educated at Wellington College and Cambridge University and in 1921 went on a Cambridge University expedition to Jan Mayen led by James Mann Wordie. Two years later he went on another Cambridge University expedition, this time to Brazil.
"Home! Sweet Home!" is a song adapted from American actor and dramatist John Howard Payne's 1823 opera Clari, or the Maid of Milan. The song's melody was composed by Englishman Sir Henry Bishop with lyrics by Payne. Bishop had earlier published a more elaborate version of this melody, naming it "A Sicilian Air", but he later confessed to having written it himself.
The King and I is a 1956 American musical film made by 20th Century-Fox, directed by Walter Lang and produced by Charles Brackett and Darryl F. Zanuck. The screenplay by Ernest Lehman is based on the 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I, which is itself based on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon. That novel in turn was based on memoirs written by Anna Leonowens, who became school teacher to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in the early 1860s. Leonowens' stories were autobiographical, although various elements of them have been called into question. The film stars Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner.
Kelli Christine O'Hara is an American actress and singer, most known for her work on the Broadway and opera stages.
Anna and the King is a television sitcom that aired Sunday nights at 7:30 pm (EST) on CBS as part of its 1972 fall lineup.
The King and I is a 1999 American animated musical film directed by Richard Rich. As of February 2024, it is the only animated feature film produced by Morgan Creek Entertainment. Loosely based on Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's 1951 stage musical of the same name, it portrays a fictionalized account of English school teacher Anna Leonowens' historical encounter with king Mongkut of Siam and the royal court. The voice cast stars Miranda Richardson and Martin Vidnovic as Leonowens and Mongkut, respectively, with Ian Richardson, Darrell Hammond, and Adam Wylie. The score, songs, and some of the character names come from the stage musical. Screenwriters Peter Bakalian, Jacqueline Feather, and David Seidler took creative liberties with the history and with the source material from the musical in an attempt to make the film palatable to all audiences.
Louis Thomas Gunnis Leonowens was a British subject and youngest son of Anna Leonowens who grew up and worked in Siam (Thailand). Leonowens served as an officer in the Siamese Royal Cavalry, an agent for the Borneo Company in the teak trade of Northern Thailand, and founded a Thai trading company that still bears his name, Louis T. Leonowens Ltd.
Jake Lucas is an American child actor with credits in musical theatre, film and television. After appearances in the children's chorus of the Metropolitan Opera and in other musicals on and off-Broadway, he appeared as Louis Leonowens in the 2015 Broadway revival of The King and I, which won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical.
Chandrmondol Sobhon Bhagiawati, the Princess Wisutkrasat also known as Princess Fa-ying or Somdetch Chow Fa-ying was a Princess of Siam and daughter of King Mongkut and Queen Debsirindra.
The year 1862 was the 81st year of the Rattanakosin Kingdom of Siam. It was the twelfth year in the reign of King Mongkut.
Edna Sarah Cole was an American Presbyterian missionary who worked in Siam (Thailand) from the late 19th through early 20th centuries. She was principal of the Wang Lang Girls' School in Bangkok, the precursor to Wattana Wittaya Girls Academy.
