The King and I is a
musical, the fifth by
the team of composer
Richard Rodgers and dramatist
Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on the 1944 novel
Anna and the King of Siam by
Margaret Landon, which is in turn derived from the memoirs of
Anna Leonowens,
governess to the children of
King Mongkut of
Siam in the early 1860s. The musical's plot relates the experiences of Anna, a British schoolteacher hired as part of the King's drive to modernize his country. The relationship between the King and Anna is marked by conflict through much of the piece, as well as by a love that neither can admit. The musical premiered on March 29, 1951, at
Broadway's
St. James Theatre. It ran nearly three years, then the fourth longest-running Broadway musical in history, and has had many tours and revivals.