Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 23, 1995 TAG: 9506230044
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KATHERINE REED STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It's Zulia's last effort as associate director at the theater and a lavish farewell - elegantly staged, beautifully sung and well-acted by its leads.
"The King and I" exemplifies the reasons Zulia will be missed by Roanoke theatergoers: He pays attention to details, keeps the pace lively, gets the best performances possible from his cast and seems to have a keen sense of the overall production.
This is one of those Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals that immediately conjures up its immortal competition: Yul Brynner as the King of Siam (a role he is said to have performed more than 2,500 times) and Deborah Kerr as the English governess Anna Leonowens, who comes to Siam to educate the king's children.
But these leads - Tony Marinyo as the king and Barbara McCulloh as Anna - are by no means standing in anyone's shadow. Although small in stature, Marinyo gives a commanding, sometimes wry performance as the indomitable (almost) king. McCulloh is a very dignified Anna, which makes her comic scenes with the king that much funnier.
And this pairing does not lack for sexual chemistry; it is unmistakable in the famous "Shall We Dance?" scene, one of those dramatic moments that proves (again) that where flirtation is concerned, less is more.
A terrific tenor also makes his Mill Mountain debut in "The King and I": Mark Calvino as Lun Tha. Calvino has a big, beautiful voice, but manages in his duets not to overwhelm Linh Kauffman who plays Tuptim, his lover.
It's important that a play like this look right, and it does. The players - especially the king's wives - are like jewel-toned music-box figures with set designer John Sailer's gilded columns towering above their heads. Sailer's lighting also creates an aura of exotic warmth and brings out the vibrant colors of Mitch Baker's costumes.
But the production's finest moment comes in its play within the play: the court's performance of "Uncle Tom's Cabin." Choreographer Craig North gets the Chinese opera-influence right. An undulating batik-dyed cloth becomes the river in which Simon Legree drowns with a towering Buddha presiding in the background, and somehow the simplicity of the staging adds poignancy (and relevance) to the famous story.
Zulia really does know how to put on a show - with energy, enthusiasm and affection not only for the play but for the experience of theater-going itself. Musical lovers - especially - are going to miss him.
by CNB