And Blakeley has used a mostly presentational style (the story stops when a major song is to be sung), that is not just antiquated for Broadway, but for opera as well.

This production, initially created by director Lee Blakeley for the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, has been re-cast with a number of Broadway veterans and Chicago actors. But I was not really heartbroken by this extraordinary, ever timely story that deals with everything from cross-cultural connections and misunderstandings, to the tension between maintaining tradition and adapting to the modern world, to the balance of power between men and women. While I remember leaving the 2014 Marriott Theatre production of “The King and I” in tears, I left the Sunday afternoon performance of the Lyric production feeling I’d seen the heft of the royal treasury of the Kingdom of Siam in the 1860s.

Wacker Tickets: $29 – $199 Info: Run time: 3 hours, with one intermission ‘THE KING AND I’ Somewhat recommended When: Through May 22 Where: Civic Opera House, 20 N.

The king and i lyric opera chicago