Takao Osawa with King and I co-star Ken Watanabe
Leading Japanese TV and film star Takao Osawa will make his West End stage debut in the eagerly awaited The King and I when it arrives at the London Palladium this summer.
Taking on the role of the King of Siam’s trusted adviser Kralahome, the multi award-winning star of the hit TV series Jin, described as the ‘Japanese Dr Who’, Osawa will join Tony Award winner Kelli O’Hara (Anna), Oscar nominee Ken Watanabe (The King) and Tony Award-winning Ruthie Ann Miles (Lady Thiang) in the acclaimed Broadway production which begins its limited London transfer run on 21 June.
As previously announced, the London cast will include Aladdin star Dean John-Wilson and Miss Saigon’s Na-Young Jeon as the doomed lovers Lun Tha and Tuptin.
Also joining the London cast are Jon Chew (Angels in America) in the role of Prince Chulalongkorn, Edward Baker-Duly (Wizard Of Oz) in the dual roles of Sir Edward Ramsay and Captain Orton alongside Annalene Beechey (Into the Woods).
The full ensemble cast of singers, actors and dancers will feature Kamm Kunaree, Jacqui Sanchez, Miiya Alexandra, Ena Yamaguchi, Ela Lisondra, Aiko Kato, Lily Wang, Yuki Abe, Saori Oda, Misa Koide, William Mychael Lee, Alistair So, Arthur Lee, Jorge Sprangers, Jonathan Caguioa, Cletus Chan, Jesse Milligan, Nick Len, Steven Hardcastle, Nicholas Li, Rachel Jayne Picar and Jasmine Leung.
In response to exceptional public demand, the producers of the Lincoln Center Theater production have also announced an extra Tuesday performance in the show’s final week in September.
The extra performance follows on from last month’s announcement that the show’s Palladium run has been extended for three final weeks until Saturday 29 September. Five extra midweek matinees have also been added on 30 August, and 6, 13, 20 and 27 September.
The extra performances will offer UK audiences the last chance to see the Broadway stars reprise their original roles on the London stage as O’Hara is due to return to Broadway to star in Kiss Me, Kate and Watanabe has filming commitments.
Presented by Howard Panter for the Trafalgar Entertainment Group, GWB Entertainment, BookMyShow, Tokyu Theatre Orb, Tulchin/Bartner and David Lazar in association with KHAM Inc, the show arrives in the UK following an acclaimed 16-month Broadway run and a record-breaking US tour.
Director Bartlett Sher heads the same creative team behind the 2008 award-winning revival of South Pacific and the new Lincoln Center Theater production of My Fair Lady which began previewing this week.
With music by Richard Rodgers, book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, the musical is widely regarded as one of their finest works, boasting a score that includes the classics ‘Getting To Know You’, ‘Hello Young Lovers’, ‘Shall We Dance’, and ‘Something Wonderful’.
Loosely based on a true story and set in 1860s Bangkok, the musical tells the story of the unconventional and tempestuous relationship that develops between the King of Siam and Anna Leonowens, a British schoolteacher, whom the imperious King brings to Siam to tutor his many wives and children.
The King and I debuted on Broadway in 1951, with veteran actress Gertrude Lawrence as Anna and relatively unknown actor and television director Yul Brynner as The King. Brynner would famously go on to play the role on tour, in the West End and in the hit 1956 film alongside leading lady Deborah Kerr.
Angela Thomas
Tickets for The King and I at the London Palladium are available HERE
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