US Musical

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s blockbuster musical, The King and I, will be staged Friday and Saturday, February 26 and 27 in the Patricia Baldwin Whipple Arts Center at Berwick Academy. “I Whistle a Happy Tune,” “Getting to Know You,” “Something Wonderful,” “Hello, Young Lovers,” “I Have Dreamed,” and “Shall We Dance,” are but of few of the musical numbers from this beloved classic of the American Musical stage.

The cast features Jo Fletcher as Anna Leonowens, Frederick Diengott, as the King, Cristina Salvador as Lady Thiang, Tyler McFarland as the Kralahome, Elizabeth Hopkins as Tuptim, Connor Haley as Lun Tha, Henry Young as Prince Chululongkorn, Austin Fishbaugh, as Louis Leonowens, Nate Winters as Sir Edward Ramsay, Jane Merrow as Eliza, and Breandàn Haley as Captain Orton.

Led by artistic director Liz-Anne Platt, music director Brenda LaForce, and assistant music director Seth Hurd ’90, more than 90 members of the BA community are at work on stage, behind the scenes, and in the orchestra to prepare this classic tale of East meets West. Faculty members Raegan Russell, Polly Davie, Sasha Randall and Brad Fletcher have assembled a large technical staff to meet the challenges of designing and constructing the elaborate scenery, lighting and costumes required for this production. Sasha Randall is also joined by her colleague Christine Bessette, as they choreograph the many dances, including the “Small House of Uncle Thomas Ballet,” inspired by the original Broadway staging, but with a unique and fresh BA interpretation.