Abstract

Throughout human history and around the world, myths have arisen to carry on the values and stories of cultures. Many times these myths are inspired by extraordinary true events, but as time goes by, truth becomes secondary to storytelling. In Thailand, King Mongkut and King Chulalongkorn have been elevated to semi-deity status because of their role in modernizing Siam. A parallel myth has developed in the West around Anna Leonowens, a Western teacher who taught in King Mongkut's court from 1862 to 1867. Leonowens is elevated in the West to be viewed as an essential part of Siam's modernization. In this paper, I trace the historical story and cultural myth of Anna Leonowens as it developed in American art up to the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical the King and I. I will thoroughly analyze the compositional decisions made by Rodgers and Hammerstein to depict Siam (or Thailand) and show how Orientalism operates in 20th-century American musical theater.