Riverside Shakespeare Company
In 1985 the Riverside Shakespeare Company presented the New York premiere of "The History of King Lear", adapted with a happy ending by 18th-century English Poet Laureate, Nahum Tate, from William Shakespeare's "King Lear". The production was directed by W. Stuart McDowell, produced by Andrew B. Harris, who had joined Riverside as its executive director at the beginning of the season.
The King and I
The production opened on May 3, 2000 at the London Palladium, directed by Renshaw and choreographed by Lubovitch, and using the Kirk and Thomson designs. It reportedly took in £8 million in advance ticket sales. The cast included Elaine Paige as Anna and Jason Scott Lee as the King, with Sean Ghazi as Luan Tha and Ho Yi as the Kralahome. Lady Thiang was, again, played by Taewon Yi Kim, of whom "The Observer" wrote, "Her 'Something Wonderful' was just that." The show was nominated for an Olivier Award for outstanding musical. Later in the run, Lee was replaced as the King by Paul Nakauchi. The revival was generally well received. "The Daily Mirror" said: ""The King and I" waltzed back to the West End in triumph last night." The "Daily Express" noted, "Love it or loathe it, "The King and I" is an unstoppable smash." "Variety", however, noted a lack of chemistry between the leads, commenting that "there’s something not entirely right in Siam when the greatest applause is reserved for Lady Thiang". Replacements included Josie Lawrence as Anna, Keo Woolford as the King and Saeed Jaffrey as the Kralahome. The show closed on January 5, 2002.