presents
 | The Red Cast photographs were taken during the first Red Cast Dress Rehearsal (January 27). The set painting was not finished (there was newspaper on the Library walls) and many of the children were not wearing their costumes. |
| Most of the Blue Cast photographs were taken during the first Blue Cast Dress Rehearsal (January 28), and many of the children were not wearing their costumes. However, there was one roll taken of the second Blue Cast Dress Rehearsal (January 30, Act I only). |
| The Ensemble photographs were taken after performances, and everyone is in full costume. |
| Some of the photographs were digitized incorrectly by the processor who developed the film, and had to be cropped to a non-standard shape, and the Ensemble photographs have also been cropped. |
| PhotoAccess.com: Browse photographs, and use your credit card to order prints, which will be mailed to you directly from PhotoAccess. When you are ordering prints, take the time to read the information about the various cropping options, particularly if you are ordering a photograph which is not a standard shape. |
| This site: Browse photographs here, and download high-resolution pictures to view or print from your computer. |
| CD-ROM: You can order a CD from Cameron Pitcairn which includes high-resolution versions of all the photographs, and also the original photographs (before cropping and red-eye correction). To order, send your mailing address and $2.00 cash or check to: |
Cameron Pitcairn
P.O. Box 504
Bryn Athyn, PA 19009
The King and I was presented in the just-completed Mitchell Performing Arts Center, in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania. Bryn Athyn is a borough in southeastern Montgomery County, in suburban Philadelphia. It is about 3 miles east of Willow Grove and 2 miles south of Southampton. Mitchell Performing Arts Center is at 800 Tomlinson Road, between Huntingdon Pike (PA route 232) and Buck Road.
Omni Productions has been organized for
the one-time purpose of staging the first major theatrical production on the
main stage of the new Mitchell Performing Arts Center,
in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania. It is a cooperative
effort among representatives of many of the organizations that will be using the
Center, and other interested people and groups. It aims to foster cooperation
among the different performing organizations, to promote sharing of expertise
and talents between them, to assist the groups in gaining experience in the use
of a dedicated performance facility, and to provide role models and mentors for
younger participants, in order to encourage their ongoing involvement in the
performing arts through different levels of schooling and into the community.
Organizations represented on the steering committee and production staff include
Academy of the New Church Secondary Schools,
Bryn Athyn College of the New Church,
Bryn Athyn Community Theater, the
Bryn
Athyn Orchestra, and the Bryn Athyn Church school. Cast and crew will
be drawn from these organizations as well as from the surrounding
communities. All are welcome. Come and join in!
Rodgers and Hammerstein's famous 1951
musical is based on the novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret
Landon which, in turn, was based on the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, an
Englishwoman who in the 1860s taught English to the children of the King of
Siam. The original Broadway production, starring Yul Brynner and Gertrude
Lawrence, ran three years and garnered five Tony Awards. The 1956 movie,
starring Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr, received five Academy Awards. In
1956, Oscar Hammerstein II wrote to Richard Rodgers, "I am convinced that
this is our best work. I have a kind of humble feeling of not knowing how
we did it. It has more wisdom as well as heart than any other musical play
by anybody. It will remain 'modern' long after any of our other
plays."
Hello to all. I cannot express how deeply touched I am
to have been invited to direct The King and I by the organizing
committee. I was inspired two years ago when I first heard whispers of Gail
Cooper's idea for a unified, premiere production in the new Mitchell Performing
Arts Center, and every week as I watch changes to the center from my office, I
grow more and more excited. This production, besides marking a historical
theatrical endeavor in the new theater, also invites us from the start to join
together, work together, create together, and give back our gifts together to
the diverse areas of the community that nurture our gifts: BAct, ANC Secondary
Schools, Bryn Athyn College of the New Church, Bryn Athyn Orchestra, and Bryn
Athyn Elementary School. We have all in some way helped to shape this marvelous
new center. I hope we can dedicate our first performances there as an offering
of immense gratitude for our community spirit and unity, and as a celebration of
the transformative and healing power of the performing arts.
The musical The King and I speaks boldly to
issues of "getting to know you:" of learning to work together even
through different styles, towards noble purposes higher than ourselves as
individuals. It honors the challenges of understanding others' cultures, and of
finding universal principles of harmony. It is my dream that for this production
we will also invite our surrounding friends and communities onto our stage and
into our audiences, reaching out even further to share our bountiful blessings
with others. We need a large effort of hard work and talent as we co-create The
King and I. Let's learn to dance together - finding balance, harmony,
respect, artistry, passion, and beauty. I invite you to come and dance with us!
Suzanne Bernhardt
Site last updated
Tuesday, May 25, 2004