Lessons from ‘The King and I’
The time: Early 1860s. The place: Siam (now Thailand), whose King Mongkut wants to modernize his kingdom. Thus, he hired English school teacher Anna Leonowens, who kept a memoir of what happened in the kingdom.
It's 2012. The question is: Will "The King and I" at Resorts World Manila starting Sept. 15 offer something relevant and fresh for today's generation?
Is Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical as relevant today as it was a few decades back when it debuted on Broadway?
The answer, if you listen to its director, Freddie Santos, is a resounding yes. So resounding, he even asks Pres. Noynoy Aquino to watch and heed its lessons on the Philippine-China Spratley dispute.
"We're talking of a king who built bridges when people would not build bridges," the three-time Aliw award-winning director explains. "Baka may lesson dito for President Noynoy. Ikaw na ang lumapit sa China. Ikaw ang mas may ipagtatanggol. Yung isa dinadaan sa laki. Baka dapat ikaw na ang lumapit."
Direk Freddie looks up to King Mongkut's way of bringing harmony in the land.
"Kaya pumunta si Anna sa Siam. Naisip ng hari na kung gusto ko maintindihan ang West, baka kailangan matututo ako ng bagay na tungkol sa West. Sa ganoon, alam ko paano makipagdeal sa kanila."
Monique Wilson, who returned from the UK to play Anna, believes the musical is loaded with lessons on love and humanity for today's children.
The King, after all, ruled with his heart.
In the same vein, Monique urges Pinoy artists to show the heart of nationalism wherever they are.
Ironically, Monique was in faraway London when she realized this.
Awakening
"It was really an awakening," she recalls. "It was a huge journey. I realized that even if I look partly American, I still have a Filipino heart."
And because the Filipino in her is very important, UK-based Monique flies to the Philippines now and then whenever she has theater plays to do.
Like many overseas Filipinos, Monique's heart still beats for her countrymen.
She asks Pinoys to junk the timid, subservient attitude years of being a colonized country has developed in many of us.
"Don't be timid! Speak your mind!" she exhorts fellow artists.
And she's walking the talk. Monique can discuss theater, art, etc., without missing a beat.
Now that she's back in the country for her comeback musical after six years, Monique is making up for lost time by speaking her mind and imparting lessons only an enlightened artist can give.
