"The King and I" Broadway Tour at the Orpheum Theatre

Last night I finally had the opportunity to see the one musical of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Big Five that I hadn't seen - The King and I, the Tony winner for best musical in 1951. The national tour of the 2015 Broadway revival (also a Tony winner) has landed in Minneapolis for the week, and it's a gorgeous production. Another beautiful Rodgers and Hammerstein score, played by a big and wonderful pit orchestra, luscious costumes and impressive set, and a talented cast that includes the most Asian-American actors I've seen on stage since... Mu Performing Arts and Park Square Theatre's production of Flower Drum Song (another R&H musical) last month. While it's pretty old fashioned (it's not the most feminist piece and suffers from the white savior complex), it is a classic, beautifully presented, and makes for quite the luscious feast.

"Rodgers and Hammerstein at the Movies" at Orchestra Hall

From "the hills are alive with the sound of music" to "Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweeping down the plain," composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II have given us some of the most memorable and beloved melodies and lyrics in all of musical theater. Most of their creations were made into movies several years after the stage success, allowing even more people to fall in love with them. This weekend the Minnesota Orchestra is presenting a concert of excerpts from seven of their big hits, with clips from the movies shown on a big screen. As a former band geek who's normally too busy attending theater to listen to the orchestra, I revel in the chance to get my orchestra fix in when they do something theater related. It's an absolute thrill to hear this huge full gorgeous orchestra playing selections from Rodgers and Hammerstein's incredible and prolific partnership.