The King and I - London Palladium / Tour / Dominion

Well that was exquisite! If you didn't know it was a second preview I don't think you would have been able to tell - no line fluffs as far as I could tell, and no prop/set issues apart from an ensemble member losing an earring centre stage at one point.

Kelli O’Hara is quite simply sublime. I've waited a long, long time to see her perform and she didn't disappoint - vocally stunning, acted everyone else out of the park and she really does own the show. Deservedly got a huge ovation at the end.

Ken Watanabe is fine - acting wise he is good and he can sing, but his diction is poor and at times I struggled to understand him - a lot of the potential humour of A Puzzlement in particular got lost as a result.

Naoko Mori is a revelation vocally, she sounded fantastic and commanded the stage acting-wise as well. She was excellent.

Na-Young Jeon and Dean John Wilson have little chemistry but he in particular is hardly in it so in a way it doesn't matter much. I didn't find them believable as lovers though. His singing is fine, nothing to write home about. She struggled badly on the higher notes but sounded lovely when within her vocal comfort zone.

The children were all good. The ensemble were generally good and the choreography will undoubtedly tighten as the run goes on - a few minor losses of balance and the like tonight that did stick out a bit watching from the gods.

Sound balance was also a bit off up that high (they need to turn O'Hara's microphone up for her opening dialogue), but the orchestra were still great and the choreography and the sets (especially the beautiful cloth backdrops) can be fully appreciated from above.

Overall though, this is exceptional and I understand fully why it got the Tonys and the reviews it did on Broadway. Definitely made my £15 Row B Grand Circle seat (legroom fine given I'm short, on the aisle and the safety rails didn't bother me at all, plus I had two empty seats next to me) the bargain of the year so far! I'd pay about 10 times the price for O'Hara's performance alone! What a fantastic evening.

Well. I am in love and her name is Kelli O'Hara. Don't get me wrong, I still loves me the mens but OMGosh, she's simply divine. Every leading lady and wannabe leading lady in London's glitzy West End should go and watch her performance which is just a masterclass. She's so natural and funny and seemingly completely spontaneous and her chemistry with Ken Watanabe is hot hot HOT. I almost burnt a finger from it and I was sat in the middle of the stalls. Her voice is also just a gift from heaven and it's such a thrill to see her live in London. I can't imagine there will be a better Best Actress nominee next year.

Ken is marvellous too. His accent is a bit on the strong side so some of it was a bit hit and miss but he's so very commanding on the stage and so funny, plus he's fantastic with the little kiddies. Obviously everyone knows that the show is one of the three best scores in musical theatre history but the whole show is just gawgeous and sumptuous and has the best glitzy West End curtain since 'Dreamgirls'. In addition to that there's a blooming great SHIP on stage too! I almost gave that a standing ovation!

We had Naoko Mori as Lady Thiang and she was marvellous although if you had told me it was Imelda Marcos I would have believed you. She forgot a few words during 'Western People Funny' but she saved it by walking around a bit. Probably thinking about shoes I should imagine. Na-Young Jeon was lovely as Tuptim and everyone will be pleased to know that Dean John Wilson sticks to the second amendment and gets the guns out in act one and saves the pecs for act two. You know they're coming because you see them come on stage before the rest of him. If he hadn't been singing two of the loveliest songs in the score then I would have been completely distracted.

Oh and when Ken says "come" before swinging Kelli around the floor during 'Shall We Dance' my nethers got all hot and bothered. I defy you to find a sexier moment than that on stage this year that doesn't involve Tom Bateman whipping his shirt off.

Don't miss it! I'm definitely going again.

Where did you find the £50 front row tickets, latefortheoverture? I've been skimming through different ticket sites for such a discount but couldn't find front tow tickets any cheaper than £80.

I would love to see the production, but the todaytix rush seats appear to be quite remote from the stage. 

What is your definition of "remote" niklas? I got a rush seat last night and it was row N in the stalls. The view was terrific I thought.

KELLI O'HARA WHAT A STAR. Honestly had a marvellous night due to her. I had sky high expectations. She was the sole reason I booked my ticket and she truly delivered. Her voice was soaring! She was absolutely charming as Anna. Really embodied the role. Gosh she was marvellous and I hope she does more in the West End.

Agree with others that Ken Wanatabe was difficult to understand. He has great comedic timing though and he had the audience eating out of his hand. Tuptim (Na-Young Jeon) and Lun Tha (Dean John-Wilson) weren't really believable as lovers although their singing was fine. I suppose their lack of chemistry is particularly obvious when you have Kelli and Ken practically giving a masterclass on stage. Let's just say people were fanning themselves during Shall we Dance and not just due to the heat 😉

That was pretty much my experience each day so far, though I haven't persisted beyond ten minutes. I'm hoping it will calm down before I plan to go in a few weeks.

It's always like that for popular shows, unfortunately, particularly at the weekend. You have to keep refreshing and hope that someone releases a ticket at the exact second you want one, before the screen updates to show remaining tickets. Obviously much easier if you're going for singles than pairs as well.

The programme was £5.

Anybody able to post the list of orchestra players please?

I'm sure someone here with a programme can post for the London Production. I believe it's about 14 plus conductor.

For the Lincoln Center Production, it was 29 plus conductor

Violin (5)
Viola (3)
Cello (2)
Bass (1)
Flute/Piccolo (1)
Flute (1)
Clarinet (2)
Bass Clarinet (1)
Oboe/English Horn (1)
Bassoon (1)
French Horn (3)
Trumpet (3)
Trombone (2)
Tuba (1)
Harp (1)
Percussion (1)

Thanks for the information emj892

At the moment no but there will be more merch on offer from next week so could have then. I'll let you know.

There's a tea towel though!