Getting ready for the king’s arrival

Photo by Paul Robeson

HONING THE ROLE: Students rehearse for the joint Anderson and West Valley production of The King and I.

Last week, at the Performing Arts Center at Anderson Union High School, the sound of costumes being sewn together during rehearsal did not distract the actors, singers and dancers from stitching their components together to form the second joint musical production. Students and teachers from West Valley High School and Anderson Union High School prepared for their joint production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical, “The King and I,” which opens Nov. 6.

Nancy Dutton, Anderson high’s music teacher and the show’s musical director, is excited about this year’s production.

“It is near and dear to my heart,” said Dutton. She and her sister, Diane Elgin, the backstage manager, were in the production when they were in high school at Shasta High.

“The King and I” is based on a book by Margaret Landon — “Anna and the King of Siam.” It comes from an autobiographical story written by Anna Leonowens, a widow from Wales, who became a teacher to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in the early 1860s. Leonowens arrives in Bangkok with her young son to teach English to the children of the royal household. The king is very interested in absorbing western knowledge but is conflicted over how to reconcile western ways with his own.

The Broadway musical opened on Broadway in 1951 and it ran for 1,246 performances. It won the Tony Award for Best Musical.

The Anderson High and West Valley High School production opens Tuesday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m. There will also be performances Nov. 7-8 at 7 p.m. and matinee performances on Saturday, Nov. 10, and Sunday, Nov. 11, both at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 each and $8 for seniors 60 and over.

For ticket information, call 365-2741 ext. 1671.