The King and I at the Paramount Was Much Better Than I Expected

by Christopher FrizzelleShip, ocean, fog... et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Photo by Matthew Murphy
The first thing you see is a ship on an ocean of fog. Then the ship breaks apart and its components become parts of a palace's interior. It's hard to explain why it works so well, but it's the first of many visual pleasures in Bartlett Sher's production of The King and I, which is currently touring the country, and which struck me, at its Seattle opening Tuesday night, as seemingly weightless, pe