History Theatre / TheKingAndI

* MassiveNumberedOffspring: The King has at least a dozen wives and concubines and 102 children--at one point he mentions that he has five more on the way. The real-life king he is based on has 82 children.

* UnresolvedSexualTension

In 1956 the musical was adapted into a movie starring Creator/DeborahKerr and Creator/YulBrynner, the latter of whom also originated the role of the King on Broadway. (In 1972 he ''also'' played the King in the TV SitCom ''Series/AnnaAndTheKing'' - Samantha Eggar played Anna here.) In 1999, it was yet again made into a movie, this time animated, that [[WesternAnimation/TheKingAndI has its own page]].

** Cutting Louis's death, incidentally, made the musical more historically accurate, since the real Louis Leonowens outlived his mother.

* MoodWhiplash: As Anna and the King waltz in a moment of shared happiness, a guard reports the capture of Tuptim, creating a heated debate between Anna and the King over whether or not Tuptim deserves a whipping.

The original Broadway production received five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Actor, and Best Actress. Additionally, the Broadway revivals from 1996 (starring Donna Murphy and Lou Diamond Philips) and 2015 (starring Kelli O'Hara and Creator/KenWatanabe) won Tony Awards for Best Revival of a Musical.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: The 1956 film gets away with a surprising amount of innuendo. The {{Mooning}} scene is one, while another is the continued reference to how many children the king has - and the implication that he has a very busy sex life given that at one point he expects to have five more children born ''within the next month''.

In 1956 the musical was adapted into a movie starring Creator/DeborahKerr and Creator/YulBrynner, the latter of whom also originated the role of the King on Broadway. (In 1972 he ''also'' played the King in the TV SitCom ''Series/AnnaTheKing'' - Samantha Eggar played Anna here.) In 1999, it was yet again made into a movie, this time animated, that [[WesternAnimation/TheKingAndI has its own page]].

In 1956 the musical was adapted into a movie starring Creator/DeborahKerr and Creator/YulBrynner, the latter of whom also originated the role of the King on Broadway. In 1999, it was yet again made into a movie, this time animated, that [[WesternAnimation/TheKingAndI has its own page]].

* WhiteMansBurden: Deconstructed. Historically during the reign of King Mongkut in the 1850s, Siam came into the crosshairs of European imperialism for the first time. King Mongkut was quick to realize what happened to nations who rejected or failed to come to an accommodation with the Europeans. For this reason King Mongkut himself actively promoted European culture and science in his kingdom, and indeed employing Anna Leonowens was just one part of his "westernization" campaign. The movie portrays this more or less accurately, and in the end his strategy proved successful. Siam came under pressure from Europeans but never fully lost its independence - one of only a few countries to do so. However the film also portrays this critically, in the character of the King's Prime Minister, the Kralahome, who warns Anna that trying to change the King will only end badly. In the confrontation between Anna and the King at the climax of the film, the King declares that ultimately Thailand must be run ''his'' way. Neither side is portrayed as being entirely correct, and the idea of learning to understand something or someone different is the main theme of the whole story.

* MightyWhitey: When you get down to it, this is basically the premise (and the reason why Thailand will never see this or any adaptation of ''The King and I'').

* OurNudityIsDifferent: During the meeting with the English ambassador, the king objects to Anna's dress, which exposes her shoulders. When Anna points out his own bared shoulders, the king responds that his clothing covers much less of him, whereas, since Anna's clothing covers so much of her, the parts that are uncovered are accentuated.

* BarefootPoverty: The entire population of UsefulNotes/{{Thailand}}, although not necessarily because of poverty, as even the king and his court go barefoot. There are only a few exceptions where the king wears jeweled slippers, and his wives wear western dresses and shoes when they are introduced to the British imperialists.

* BarefootPoverty: The entire population of UsefulNotes/{{Thailand}} except for the king, and his wives in the scene where they are introduced to the British imperialists.
** Actually, as the title picture shows, even the king.

* LighterAndSofter: Though partly based on the script for the 1946 film ''Anna and the King of Siam'', Hammerstein's script cuts some of the darker story points: in the original movie, Louis dies (leaving the King's children as Anna's only children)--this cut, incidentally, was historically accurate--and we actually see Tuptim being burned at the stake, while here her death is merely an implied offscreen suicide.

* LighterAndSofter: Though partly based on the script for the 1946 film ''Anna and the King of Siam'', Hammerstein's script cuts some of the darker story points: in the original movie, Louis dies (leaving the King's children as Anna's only children) and we actually see Tuptim being burned at the stake.

** Not to mention outright lies. The story of Tuptim, which Anna admits was "based on palace gossip", never happened. In fact, Mongkut himself had instituted a law saying concubines who did not have children could apply for dismissal and marry whom they chose. Petitions were actually allowed even in the time of Mongkut's father. Neither beheading (as in the 1999 film) nor burning at the stake (which is what Anna says happened) were ''ever'' done in Siam, and in the musical and its adaptations it's heavily implied Tuptim commits suicide. Anna herself was not all that she appeared to be. She took great pains to conceal from the world that she was half Indian, changing her name repeatedly and repudiating family members who could out her. Also, all the film and theatrical versions of her story are based on Margaret Landon's ''Anna and the King of Siam'', a novelized adaptation of Anna's books, and not even on Anna's own work.

* DueToTheDead: Discussed very early on in stage productions, when it's mentioned that fireworks and royal funeral pyres go hand in hand.

** Not to mention outright lies. The story of Tuptim, which Anna admits was "based on palace gossip", never happened. In fact, Mongkut himself had instituted a law saying concubines who did not have children could apply for dismissal and marry whom they chose. Petitions were actually allowed even in the time of Mongkut's father. Neither beheading (as in the 1999 film) nor burning at the stake (which is what Anna says happened) were ''ever'' done in Siam. Anna herself was not all that she appeared to be. She took great pains to conceal from the world that she was half Indian, changing her name repeatedly and repudiating family members who could out her. Also, all the film and theatrical versions of her story are based on Margaret Landon's ''Anna and the King of Siam'', a novelized adaptation of Anna's books, and not even on Anna's own work.

* AdaptationDistillation: The movie, widely considered to be the best of the [[Creator/RodgersAndHammerstein R&H]] screen adaptations (or at least second only to ''Film/TheSoundOfMusic'', which also had Ernest Lehman as the screenwriter), taking a Best Picture nomination at the 1957 Oscars. Oscar Hammerstein II called it the finest work he and Richard Rodgers ever produced.

* WarElephants: The King plans to send War-Elephants to help UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln. TruthInTelevision for once, although this wasn't for UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar, which wasn't on yet. He was just offering something he thought would be useful to the people of America. [[http://2bangkok.com/2bangkok-news-7659.html His two letters]], handwritten in Thai and enclosed with gifts, were addressed to President Buchanan "or to whomsoever the people have elected anew in place of President Buchanan". [[https://civilwartalk.com/threads/lincoln-and-the-elephants.134225/ Lincoln's response is some of his most beautiful writing]].[[note]]If you hear the words in Daniel Day-Lewis' ''Film/{{Lincoln}}'' voice, you're not alone.[[/note]]

* PainfulRhyme: Lampshaded in-universe when Anna sings "Shall I Tell You What I Think Of You?", mispronouncing "employee" to rhyme with "pay" and "libertine" to rhyme with "concubine"... and then correcting herself.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: The King dies, he and Anna never act on their love, and she and his advisor are the only ones who notice his passing. But his son promises sweeping changes, including ending slavery and prostration before the king.]]

* WarElephants: The King plans to send War-Elephants to help UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln. TruthInTelevision for once, although this wasn't for UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar, which wasn't on yet. He was just offering something he thought would be useful to the people of America. [[http://2bangkok.com/2bangkok-news-7659.html His two letters]], handwritten in Thai and enclosed with gifts, were addressed to President Buchanan "or to whomsoever the people have elected anew in place of President Buchanan". [[https://civilwartalk.com/threads/lincoln-and-the-elephants.134225/ Lincoln's response is some of his most beautiful writing]].

* AuthorFilibuster: InUniverseExample. Tuptim's in-universe adaptation of [[Literature/UncleTomsCabin The Small House of Uncle Thomas]] is a thinly-veiled criticism for her slavery and her separation from her lover. In the middle of the play she dispenses with all subtleties, causing big problems for her.