Creating Anna of Rodgers and Hammerstein King and I for Gertrude Lawrence
With Repertory Philippines Tita Baby Barredo around, one can be assured of snippets of theater tidbits. When the discussion came around to the works of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, King and I came up and Tita Baby shared how the famous duo created the role of for Gertrude Lawrence.
However, Gertrude Lawrence became ill and was told by her doctors that if she did the role of Anna, it would cause her death.
Despite her doctors’ warnings, Gertrude Lawrence opened the well-loved musical on Broadway and went on to win the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.
Unfortunately, “her health deteriorated rapidly, forcing her to miss numerous performances until she finally was hospitalized.”
When Gertrude Lawrence was finally laid to rest, she fittingly wore her costume for Anna’s famous scene with the King of Siam — the Shall We Dance number.
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