The King and I was a culturally eye opening, theatrical musical. The play is about a determined, widowed school teacher, Anna Leonowens, who is requested by the King of Siam to tutor his many children and help modernize Siam. The King and Anna share some conflicts throughout the play. The King had tendencies to make those who are beneath him obey, but once he asked Anna to obey, she repudiates the term and hurries away. The crowd was blown away with the powerful voices the actors held when singing and acting. They had great comedic timing throughout the play as well, it was a good way to keep the show going. Although the stage was pretty small, the cast and crew put on a large show. It was truly wonderful seeing such a large ensemble.

The King and I consisted of two acts with 9 scenes each making the shows runtime about 3 hours. Although the time seems very lengthy, the time went by really quick when watching this entertaining and fascinating show. The show couldn’t go on without the wonderful and fast paced stage crew. They were able to make the set of the show incredible with designing their own props and backgrounds, bringing the show to life. Sarah Acuna, who was the stage manager for this show, designed this set and with the help of her crew, they were able to create a beautiful setting for a prosperous show.

Senior Bita Aghaee played the british school teacher, Anna Leonowens, along with Anthony Cortez who played the king. These two were the main leads of the play and they both did a tremendous job. Bita started in drama when she was a freshman and has loved it ever since. She says she has made an amazing home in drama and is beyond grateful to have found where she belongs in high school. Not only does she act though, she sings and performs as well as acting. She wishes to pursue a career in all three as it is something she loves.

While the two leads are seniors and are graduating, the program has a strong group of underclassmen coming up in the ranks. Most of the cast were underclassmen in the show had some big roles. Freshman Kaitlyn Levitt was Lady Thiang in the show and she says she had a great experience acting alongside the seniors. They helped her with acting and getting over her stage fright. They taught her that if you don’t go for what you want, you are going to regret it. Freshman Daniella Mas was one of the lead roles of the school teachers son, Luis Leonowens. We asked how the experience with working with seniors was and she said, “It was an amazing experience. The seniors were all very nice and don’t treat the underclassmen as any lesser. They are great advice givers whether it’s about the program or our personal lives.” Daniella also says she will be continuing drama next year as a sophomore. Maia Rodino was also an important character in the show. She played Tuptim in the show and the audience as blown away with her singing. Maia said that she thinks “ it was really cool acting alongside the seniors because they were constantly there for any question you needed. We got to hear about their past stories. I absolutely loved my theatre family.”

Mr. Sehres deserves a big “ thank you” for being so supportive and helping the actors and crew with putting on this show. He directed it with such emotion and support, which really was evident in the whole production. We are sure that Mr. Sehres and the students that will be joining theatre next year are going to create more outstanding shows that will continue to make the audiences speechless.