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The Immigrant Boy Outshines the King
Phong Truong and Lisa Yuen AMT's ÒThe King and I Òis an inspired production. It is a true Broadway production, replete with marvelous sets and an excellent cast. Debbie Boone is exquisite. Perfect diction, crystal clear singing, a la Julie Andrews. Debbie's singing harks back to the days of Broadway, when people sang, not bellowed and stayed away from histrionics. Francis Jue is a fascinating actor. He brings a depth to the role that is interesting. He brings to the portrayal of the King a childlike quality and a certain charm. Debbie on the other hand is there but not all the way. She of course brings superlative singing to the production, but her acting could have been stepped up several notches. As you step back from the Debbie Ð Francis pair, you realize that this is a rather bad mash-up, not at all appropriate. There is to begin with the physical dissonance, her looming physique, as opposed to the diminutive Francis. Francis as the King seems puny even when compared to the Thai queens; he has sired over 70 children with!!
Francis Jue and Debbie Boone But the incongruity of the pair brings a certain charm to the production. It has an endearing quality, which tugs at your heart and makes you sit up and take in the production. The real gem of AMT's ÒThe King and I Òis Phong Truong . This young man is a wonderful singer. He has theatrical poise and he can act. Phong has appeared before in ÒMiss SaigonÓ on Broadway. He was in ÒThe King and IÓ in London, besides other productions. It was curious to see Francis Jue be given barely one song to sing, whereas Phong Truong had several. But then given Phong's singing capabilities and experience, it was not surprising that Tim Bair the Artistic Director gave the additional songs to Phong. If only Phong had been given a larger role to perform. I do not think it would be stretching it if he would have been tested in the role of the King himself!! (perhaps with a much younger Debby Boone (like the one featured on her CD cover!!) Another remarkable voice that was sorely underutilized was Irene Liu Trapp. Irene has a mature voice with a resonant quality that deserved more than one song. She was seen in ÒFlower Drum SongÓ and hopefully in several more productions in the near future. Perhaps the piece de resistance of the production was the elaborate set. Coming in the wake of AMT's financial problems, it was amusing to see the breathtaking sets which were as good as some of the best that Broadway has to offer. The scenery was originally designed for the Paper Mill Playhouse at Millburn New Jersey.
Francis Jue (center) and cast members
The costumes and the choreography was painstakingly authentic Thai. The attention given to detail, made the production very realistic with none of that phony Hollywood interpretation of ÒThe OrientÓ. AMT also needs be commended for having deployed a large number of Asian American talent and none of that Broadway tradition of trying to pass off Jonathan Pryce was an Asian, when there is such excellent much ignored Asian American theatrical talent all over Silicon Valley.
The Small House of Uncle Thomas Dance Sequence San Jose has been seeing a large number of Broadway on wheels productions for the past several years. These productions are bastardized versions of the original Broadway shows. The cast that typically goes on the road is seldom as good as the one that stays at ÒhoneÓ. The sets are paltry and this has resulted in audiences leaving feeling cheated. AMT's ÒThe King and I Òis a home grown production, not an imported one. AMT needs to be commended for this. AMT plays an incredible role in staging excellent musical productions in San Jose. It is to be noted that it is about time that the City of San Jose started funding fine performing arts companies such as AMT and the San Jose Rep. The City of San Jose allowed the San Jose Symphony to die. I used to sing for the Symphony and have never forgiven the City Council for focusing on bringing ear splitting car races and now a football team. The new Mayor Chuck Reed and the City Council needs to be reminded that the 10th largest city is the only major US city with no symphony. The days when the residents of San Jose and Silicon Valley needed to go all the way to Òthe City Òto see worthwhile arts are over. San Jose has matured over the years and has excellent theater, opera and theatrical venues. A City is measured by the arts it sports and not the sports it articulates to have!!
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