Open Your Hart (to Hart) This Holiday Season

Here at SFist, we'll admit to a bias toward events where fabulousness and social conscience go hand in hand. That's why we're looking forward to Sunday night, when The Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation is presenting Help is on the Way for the Holidays VII. Northern California’s largest annual Aids benefit concert, this night of performances from stage and screen stars will benefit the HIV/AIDS Program at Children’s Hospital Oakland, Project Inform, and Maitri.

You can take in this "all-star holiday benefit concert" Sunday, December 4 at 7:30, at the Herbst Theater. As for the star power of the event, there's a lot of them, but w're especially intrigued by the prospect of performances from Susan Anton and Stefanie Powers -- and, hey, don't forget Oakland's own LaToya London!

General admission tickets are $45 and $65, and will get you into the pre-show silent auction at 5:30, with the show starting at 7:30. For the $100 (and up) Host Underwriter tickets, there's even a post-performance party with the cast in the Green Room of the War Memorial Building featuring complimentary wine, champagne and desserts (and we know you can make up that $55 difference in food, booze, and starf**king), from 9:30-11:30.

Review: Hart to Hart: The Complete First Season

In the retrospective featurette that graces the new DVD set of Hart to Hart: The Complete First Season, creator Sidney Sheldon accurately describes the sort of winky, black-tie tone he was aiming for in this serialized, early ’80s knock-off of The Thin Man films, in which Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers played a globe-trotting, make-cute husband and wife duo whose substantial personal fortune allows them to play amateur sleuths. With this in mind, the laidback charms of this show (after all, as the opening credit narration from co-star Lionel Stander cheerily notes of the Harts, “murder is their hobby”) can wash pleasantly over viewers seeking to relive their small screen past, when rakishness was embraced rather than castigated.

Wagner stars as Jonathan Hart, a self-made millionaire who is utterly bored with the business world. He runs his conglomeration of industries by loose proxy, leaving him the time to tend his magnificent coif and live a life of luxury and indulged inquisitiveness with his wife Jennifer (Powers), a former freelance journalist and his intellectual equal. Stander is their butler and sidekick, Max, who blends fruit-and-Jack-Daniels smoothies and is quick with a quip. While so many investigatory shows — be they cop, private investigator or, these days, forensic scientist — are little more than colorfully convoluted procedurals, one thing that’s notable about Hart to Hart is the amount of time it took to establish and delight in character. The cases the Harts tackle, therefore, are actually a little less than half the story, as the mock-exasperated interplay between the stars is what gives the show its true zing. The (little) action is dated and silly, sure, and the occasional stunt doubles among the worst you’ll ever see, but Hart to Hart has a great sense of its own style and mission.

While not without its low points (“Which Way, Freeway?,” wherein the Harts’ dog exposes an elaborate scheme to kill a reclusive jeweler and steal millions of dollars in gems, comes to mind), Hart to Hart works chiefly because of its leads. Wagner plays Hart in breezy, Steve McQueen-lite fashion, which isn’t as backhanded a compliment as it sounds; vacuumed free of his complications and surliness, one could see how the character of Hart — and indeed, this series — was a success with audiences, if never quite a critical darling. While it suffered some rocky reviews early on, Hart to Hart eventually went on to score six Emmy nominations and more than a dozen Golden Globe nods. Episode highlights here include a great opening pilot, “A New Kind of High,” “Hit Jennifer Hart,” “Cruise at Your Own Risk” and “With This Gun I Thee Wed.”

The full-frame transfers of the show look surprisingly good given their age, and the audio (in English and… Portuguese, with subtitles in the latter?) is equally crisp. Wagner and Powers sit with writer-director Tom Mankiewicz for a warm audio commentary track on the two-hour pilot. An abundance of anecdotes are shared (after a location set fire early during the shoot, the director of photography used gaffer tape to amend his novelty, pre-show crew T-shirt from, “I have complete confidence in my director” to read “some confidence”), and the banter between the three (“Did you learn that in star school?” jibes Powers to Wagner at one point) is loving and humorous. This track is a veritable blueprint for multi-party effectiveness, so balanced is it between yarns, interesting insight and quantifiable information. The aforementioned retrospective featurette clocks in at 22 minutes, and includes interviews with the stars, plus Mankiewicz, Sheldon, executive producer Leonard Goldberg and others. It too is a fantastic look back at the series, and a model of economic re-visitation — not too long, not too short.

Review: The King and I

The King and I

(Prudential Hall, NJPAC; Newark, N.J.; 2,750 seats; $35 top)

A New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Atlanta's Theater of Stars and Independent Presenters Network presentation of a musical in two acts with music by Richard Rodgers, book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Directed by Baayork Lee.

Captain Orton, Sir Edward Ramsey - Hal Davis
Louis Leonowens - Patrick Scott Minor
Anna Leonowens - Stefanie Powers
The Interpreter - Scott Kitajima
The Kralahome - Ronald M. Banks
The Royal Dancer - Jessica Wu
The King of Siam - Ronobir Lahiri
Lun Tha - Martin Sola
Tuptim - Nita Baxani
Lady Thiang - Catherine MiEun Choi
Prince Chululongkorn - Allan Mangaser
Princess Ying Yaowlak - Daphne Chen
Fan Dancer - Kumi Kimura

Winding up a 22-city cross-country tour, "The King and I""The King And I" has settled down in Newark with a perfectly lovely Victorian schoolmarm at the helmhelm and the luscious legacy of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's durable score. The lavish bus and truck production has comfortably weathered the half-century mark bolstered by picturesque design and Baayork Lee's well-focused staging.
Anna Leonowens, the dauntless schoolteacher imported from Britain to Siam to educatethe king's expansive household of children, is played with considerable spunk by Stefanie Powers. In addition to the right mix of reserve and stately beauty, she also possesses a lovely soprano voice, only glimpsed when she appeared as Margo Channing in a Paper Mill Playhouse production of "Applause" a few seasons back.

Powers' widowed tutor reveals maternal warmth when she gathers the children about her to "Whistle a Happy Tune." There's witty defiance in the response to her employer's demands, "Shall I Tell You What I Think of You?" and most embracing is her tender blessing to the star-crossed sweethearts, "Hello, Young Lovers."

The king is no longer quite the star turn once fashioned by Yul Brynner. Ronobir Lahiri is perhaps the most youthful in a long line of theatrical kings. He's certainly not a cuddly emperor, and manages to conveyarrogance and royal authority. But the childish needling humor and warm condescension never seem to successfully surface. His delightful, quizzical delivery of "A Puzzlement," however, is everything it should be.

Catherine MiEun Choi is a wise Lady Thiang, and she makes "Something Wonderful" exactly that. As Tuptim, the errant princess, Nita Baxani together with Martin Sola as her doomed lover deliver two of the most sensuous ballads in the R&H canon, "We Kiss in a Shadow" and "I Have Dreamed." The romantic fervor of the theater's golden age survives with considerable distinction.

A batch of barefoot tots scurry across the stage representing a small parcel of the king's 60-some offspring. The extraordinary capacity of Rodgers' melodies to charm and seduce an audience is in evidence as they enter the throne room in "The March of the Siamese Children."

Director Lee, who appeared in the original Broadway production at the age of 5 and is best known for creating the role of Connie in "A Chorus Line," has harnessed the show's physical beauty and its intrinsic exotic flavor.

Still the centerpiece of act two, "The Small House of Uncle Thomas" ballet parody, as originally choreographed by Jerome Robbins, remains an engaging sideshow

Kenneth Foy's bejeweled set design is especially sumptuous for a traveling company. The picture-postcard Thailand is richly dressed with golden Buddha statues and high-columned anterooms for visual allure, enhanced by Roger Kirk's traditional period costumes and sweeping hoop skirts.

Sets, Kenneth Foy; costumes, Roger Kirk; lighting, John McLain; sound, Abe Jacob, Mark Cowburn; musical supervision, Kevin Farrell; production stage manager, John W. Calder III. Opened Nov. 8, 2005. Reviewed Nov. 10, Running time: 2 HOURS 35 MIN.

With: Michiko Takemasa, Greg Zane, Kim Jones, Amy Chang, Jessica Wu, Yuki Ozeki, Nicholas Cook, Jellyn Echon, Eric Liew, Carol Nelson, Jacquelyn Zen, Eileen Ward, Enrique Acevedo, Andrew Cheng, Edward Dias, Vivien Eng, Kuma Kimora, Scott Kitajima, LaToya D. Martin, Christine Nuki, Rommel Ochoa, Mayumi Omagan, Yuki Ozeki, Mata RS Perkins, Joshua Schutteis, Nancy Yang, Zhenjun Zhang.

Warning Shot on DVD

Warning Shot was released on DVD earlier this month.

Cast and Crew

David Janssen...Sgt. Tom Valens
Ed Begley...Capt. Roy Klodin
Keenan Wynn...Sgt. Ed Musso
Sam Wanamaker...Frank Sanderman
Lillian Gish...Alice Willows
Stefanie Powers...Liz Thayer
Eleanor Parker...Mrs. Doris Ruston
George Grizzard...Walt Cody
George Sanders...Calvin York
Steve Allen...Perry Knowland
Carroll O'Connor...Paul Jerez
Joan Collins...Joanie Valens
Walter Pidgeon...Orville Ames
Vito Scotti...Designer
David Garfield...Police Surgeon
Bob Williams...Judge Gerald Lucas
Jerry Dunphy...Himself - TV newscaster
Romo Vincent...Ira Garvin
Jean Carson...Cocktail Waitress
Donald Curtis...Dr. James B. Ruston
Brian Dunne...Philip 'Rusty' Ruston

Stefanie in San Francisco

Stefanie will be performing in San Francisco.

The Richmond/Ermet Aids Foundation presents "Help is on the Way for the Holidays VII" on Sunday, December 4, 2005 at 7:30 pm at the Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness Avenue.

For more information go to:
http://www.richmondermet.org/reaf10.1/HelpHol7.htm

Tickets can be purchased through the City Box Office at 415-392-4400 or your can go on-line at www.cityboxoffice.com.

The Powers that be Anna

With Stefanie in title role, emphasis returns to the 'I' in 'The King and I'

She'll miss the role and the songs -- and the children. She'll not forget the children, as the lyric goes.

But Stefanie Powers, who next week wraps up her 10-month national tour as Mrs. Anna in "The King and I" at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, won't spend any time yearning for the costume.

"That big hooped skirt weighs a ton," she says. "Then there's the pantaloons underneath it. And you have to wear a corset to keep everything up.

"Of course," she says, "one never knows if you're really hanging up the hoops for good. I thought I was hanging them up after the first time I did the part."

That was in London in 2002, when she took over for Elaine Paige. Then came a tour of England. Last December, when Sandy Duncan wanted to leave this American tour, Powers agreed to once more portray the embattled English schoolteacher who finds that the King of Siam isn't an easy person to have as a boss.

"I stress Anna's frustration," she says. "The King is no one's fool, and while he's not English, he is capable of running his country. At this moment in her life, Anna is without many alternatives in making a living, supporting her son, and maintaining a standard in her life. She was not privileged, or in a position to return to England, so she lives a very precarious life with not many opportunities, despite her education."

Powers, who turned 63 on Wednesday, says Anna is the lead of the show.

"Gertrude Lawrence was the original star of the piece -- and even brought the project to Rodgers and Hammerstein in the first place," she says. "However, over the years it became the King's show, because Yul Brynner made himself the focus, and played it over 4,000 times. Twelve years ago, Clear Channel (the tour's producer) wanted to put the emphasis back where it started -- on Anna."

That seems to be what Rodgers and Hammerstein intended. The King, after all, sings only one song -- "A Puzzlement" -- while Anna gets four of the show's biggest hits: "I Whistle a Happy Tune," "Hello, Young Lovers," "Getting to Know You" and "Shall We Dance?" (Granted, the King -- here portrayed by Ronobir Lahiri -- partners her in the last-named song.)

"I love doing that polka because it comes so naturally to me -- probably because I'm Polish," says the former Stefania Zofia Federkiewicz.

Powers finds an irony in replicating Jerome Robbins' original choreography, here restaged by Baayork Lee, who was one of the Siamese children in the original 1951 Broadway production.

"I once worked for Mr. Robbins, when he hired me (in 1960) when I was a teenager to be a Jet Girl in the 'West Side Story' movie," she says of the time when her stage name was Taffy Paul. "I was the only minor on the set. He was a very tough man, and a taskmaster who took no prisoners. It was a baptism of fire for me, because he eventually replaced me. Still, I consider it a mixed pleasure to have worked with Mr. Robbins. I wouldn't trade the agony of it all for the experience I had just being there, seeing how hard everyone worked."

Although she took a self-imposed year of exile after the firing, she re-emerged with her new name to do some films ("Experiment in Terror," "Palm Springs Weekend") and TV shows -- becoming a genuine star when portraying Jennifer the journalist in "Hart to Hart," the 1979-84 TV series with Robert Wagner.

"That's what people mention when they come to the stage door after the show," she says. "'When's "Hart to Hart" coming out on DVD?' I'm so glad it just did."

Pleasurable 'King' lacks spark

The resplendent textures, gilded Buddhas and elephant figurines evoking Bangkok provide one facet of a multitude of pleasures in the latest touring production of the classic Broadway musical, "The King and I."

But the show has a key fault -- the lack of sexual tension between the King of Siam and the British governess who arrives in 19th-century Thailand to teach his throng of children.

The last time the Richard Rodgers-Oscar Hammerstein II musical rolled into town, in 1998, English actress Hayley Mills played Anna Leonowens, the adventurous Welsh widow who accepts a job offer from the inquisitive but stubborn King of Siam, known as "Lord of Light" and ruler of all things in his country.

This time, the PNC Bank Broadway in Louisville presentation at the Kentucky Center features Stefanie Powers as Anna.

Mills had a winning spunkiness but an untrained and unimpressive singing voice. Powers, best known for her role on television's "Hart to Hart," brings a lofty bearing to the role as well as the musical pipes to sing Anna's half-dozen songs, including the poignantly beautiful "Hello, Young Lovers" and the cheerful but tricky "I Whistle a Happy Tune."

Powers is fun to watch, especially when she privately imagines giving the king a piece of her mind while wearing pantaloons and singing "Shall I Tell You What I Think of You."

The problem with this show, however, lies in the scenes between Powers' Anna and Ronobir Lahiri's King. The undercurrent of danger and physical attraction that made the Yul Brynner-Deborah Kerr movie so enchanting and memorable is missing in this version, directed by Baayork Lee, who appeared in the original "The King and I" as the youngest princess.

Lahiri is considerably shorter than Powers and less than commanding. At Tuesday night's opening performance, he failed to crisply articulate "A Puzzlement," and his singing was lost in the orchestration. He's best when quipping about his multitude of children, but it's disappointing that Lahiri, who has an impressive list of film and stage credits -- and who played this role opposite Powers on a United Kingdom tour and was the understudy on Broadway in 1997 -- projects such a tepid presence as the King of Siam.

Compensating pleasures are found in the performances of Nita Baxani and Martin Sola as the sympathetic "young lovers" who sing "We Kiss in a Shadow" and "I Have Dreamed." Catherine MiEun Choi provides a sense of compassionate wisdom with an affecting "Something Wonderful." And the sparkling, instructive Act II number, "The Small House of Uncle Thomas," in which slavery is condemned, is among the most charming scenes of all in the nearly three-hour show.

Powers loved McLintock

Actress Stefanie Powers says her happiest working experience on a movie came in 1963 when she played John Wayne's daughter in the comic western McLintock.



She also says she will never forget the close chemistry between Wayne and his favorite leading lady, Maureen O'Hara, and reveals that it influenced the rapport she later established with Robert Wagner for their hit television series, Hart To Hart.

Powers makes her comments in a fascinating interview contained in the new special DVD edition of McLintock just released by Paramount Home Entertainment. O'Hara, now 85, also discusses her long friendship with Wayne and her role in this film as cattle Baron George Washington McLintock's estranged and domineering wife.

The movie, a raucous frontier reworking of Shakespeare's Taming Of The Shrew, is an anachronism by current standards -- breaking the rules of political correctness right and left. Indeed its screenwriter James Edward Grant once famously commented: "All you gotta have in a John Wayne picture is a hoity-toity dame with big tits that Duke can throw over his knee and spank, and a collection of jerks he can smash in the face every five minutes...."

But O'Hara makes no apologies about the spanking scene or the sequence where she is covered in mud. She makes it clear that she adored Wayne.

McLintock has never looked its best in previous DVD and VHS releases because of bad transfers. This time it looks excellent. It's also very good value, considering the special features, which include interviews with Powers and O'Hara, a biography of the Duke's producer son, Michael Wayne, and commentary featuring the voices of critic Leonard Maltin and film historian Frank Thompson.

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday, dear Stefanie,
Happy birthday to you.

'The King and I' - Louisville, KY

Stefanie Powers -- yes, the same actress who starred in TV's "Hart to Hart" and "The Girl from U.N.C.L.E." -- plays "I" in the PNC Bank Broadway in Louisville touring production of "The King and I."

Powers' role as Anna the determined governess will be complemented by Ronobir Lahiri's role as the King of Siam.

The musical opens today and runs through Sunday at the Kentucky Center. It is filled with many memorable songs, including "Shall We Dance?" "Getting to Know You" and "I Whistle a Happy Tune."

IF YOU GO

'The King and I'
When: Performances will be at 8 p.m. today through Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
Where: Whitney Hall at the Kentucky Center, Sixth and Main streets.
Admission: Tickets are $21.75 to $56.75. Call (502) 584-7777 or visit www.kentuckycenter.org.

Powers reveals what makes 'King' so special

Stefanie Powers, a Hollywood native best known as the co-star of the TV series "Hart to Hart," isn't interested in answering personal questions.

The auburn-haired singer, animal-lover and multilingual president of the Kenya-based William Holden Wildlife Foundation preferred in a recent interview to talk about the musical "The King and I."

Powers plays Anna, governess to the King of Siam's brood of children, in the national tour of the Oscar Hammerstein II-Richard Rodgers musical that opens Tuesday night at the Kentucky Center. Before signing on for the U.S. tour, Powers portrayed Anna on a national tour in the United Kingdom opposite New York actor Ronobir Lahiri, who also plays the King of Siam in this touring production.

"The King and I" first opened on Broadway in 1951 with Gertrude Lawrence as Anna and Yul Brynner as the titular king. It won five Tony Awards, including best musical. A 1956 film adaptation with Brynner and Deborah Kerr won an equal number of Academy Awards.

When she isn't on the road, Powers, who turns 63 on Wednesday, lives in Los Angeles or Kenya. The world traveler has visited Kentucky several times for the Kentucky Derby. She also appeared here with "Hart to Hart" co-star Robert Wagner in the play "Love Letters."

Recently, Powers spent about 20 minutes fielding questions from The Courier-Journal. Here is an edited version of that interview.

Do you have good memories of your past Louisville visits?

Oh, yes. Very positive. We look forward to that beautiful theater. It makes a big difference for us backstage.

Any idea how many interviews you've already given for "The King and I"?

Tons and tons. I don't know how many. You know, I did this in England. I don't know what you've read, but this play was a commission. Gertrude Lawrence was a great Broadway star and she was looking for a vehicle for herself. She bought the rights to the story and commissioned Rodgers and Hammerstein to write it. … The poor thing, she had cancer while they were developing it and died shortly after it opened on Broadway. In the meantime, they had discovered this virtual unknown, Yul Brynner, who did more than 4,000 performances of "The King and I" over his lifetime.

Have you ever been to Thailand yourself?

Many times.

What is special about this touring production?

This probably is the last time that a production of this size and quality -- and having received the "Good Housekeeping" seal of approval from the Rogers and Hammerstein estate -- may be presented. We also have a particular cachet that makes this doubly unusual. This is directed by the woman (Baayork Lee) who as a child was the original Princess Ying Yaowlak, the youngest member of the cast. In addition, the choreographer (Susan Kikuchi) is the daughter of the original lead dancer, who was designated as keeper of the flame for Jerome Robbins' original choreography.

What are the defining traits of Anna in "The King and I"?

Mr. Hammerstein did an extraordinary job of research … and produced the archetypal Colonial British woman of that period. They were very specific. When I was asked to play this in England, I worked with an elocutionist from the National Theatre. … She was of Welsh parentage, born in the Far East. Her parents were in the foreign service and she was married to a British officer.

I live in a former British Colony, Kenya, and have spend a lot of time in former British colonies. … And I suppose that particular arrogance of the Empire was rather prevalent in the way they conducted themselves.

How did you prepare for the role?

The show went along with my curiosity about history. It was a happy marriage and I could intellectually adapt, but I also had to physically adapt. I had never sung operetta before so I worked with opera coaches. I have done lots of musicals but not in this register. I also worked on the posture and decorum of that time period and the ways in which she spoke. It was an interesting journey.

How does the U.S. tour compare with the English tour?

It is very different. This is a huge country and the distances are great. And the comedy (within the show) plays so much better in the United States because it was written by two Americans and it is part of the great American art form.

Is it true that you fluently speak seven languages, including Swahili, Mandarin Chinese and Polish?

I speak fluently about six. I have lost a lot of my Chinese because I don't spend time there.

What do you think is the most common misconception about you?

I don't know. I don't think about myself that much.

Orlando: Lacking any passion, production falls flat

Everybody of a certain age loves The King and I.

Just look at the gray-haired woman in front of me at the Carr Performing Arts Centre, where yet another tour of the Richard Rodgers-Oscar Hammerstein II musical opened Tuesday night. As the orchestra starts to play the first notes of its introduction to "Shall We Dance?," this buttoned-up audience member can't contain herself: She claps in delight.

I know how she feels: "Shall We Dance?" is one of the great numbers in musical theater. But what we're responding to in this version of The King and I isn't on the stage at Carr. It's the ghost of the musical that was.

This particular tour of The King and I is audio-animatronic theater, paint-by-numbers theater -- the kind of theater that faithfully reproduces what you expect to see onstage but leaves out every ounce of the heart. If all you want is to hear somebody sing Rodgers and Hammerstein's glorious songs, this King and I might do for you. But if you want to feel the passion that percolates just below the surface of this beloved musical, you'd be better off renting the film.

You can't fault the handsome production, the scarlet and gold, peacock blue and emerald of the scenic design and the elegant silks of the costumes. Instead, blame the producers for trotting out TV actress Stefanie Powers, whose Anna comes across more as an aging neighbor, always chipper but slightly out of touch, rather than the 30ish governess she's supposed to be. And blame director Baayork Lee, who played one of the smallest children in the original King and I in 1951, when she was 5, but who treats the show like a trusty but not very interesting machine. It's Chevrolet theater, not Porsche.

It's hard to imagine the casting sessions that came up with Powers, who hit her heyday 25 years ago in the TV series Hart to Hart. Surely there are appropriate roles for an attractive actress in her early 60s, despite her quavery, Glynis Johns-like voice. But Anna Leonowens was not yet 30 when she went off to work for the king of Siam, and in the fictionalized version she had a young son in tow. In Orlando, Powers could be her stage son's grandmother -- more significantly, she could be the king of Siam's mother, or maybe his maiden aunt.

Yet age is less the problem than a lack of passion -- an offhand quality that runs all the way through. It's not just that Powers fails to connect with Ronobir Lahiri, the thirty- something actor who plays the king as a goofy, petulant boy. It's that Lun Tha (the handsome-voiced Martin Sola) fails to connect with his lover Tuptim (Nita Baxani), that the king barely connects with his son, Prince Chululongkorn, and that Anna barely connects with the kids.

With so many missed connections, it's a wonder Anna gets to Siam at all.

Orlando: Powers is back and ready for a little 'Hart to Hart' with the king of Siam

Some performances of this classic musical benefit her wildlife charity in Kenya.

It's good to be king. It's better to be Stefanie Powers.

Powers is the "I" in the touring production of The King and I that opens tonight at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre; she's also the one who gets her name listed above the title in this production.

That's because Powers, 62, is someone you've heard of, very likely from the TV series Hart to Hart (1979-84) in which Powers and Robert Wagner played a jet-setting couple with a flair for solving crimes.

Powers -- real name Stefania Zofia Federkiewicz -- gets around in real life, too, with homes in Kenya, England and her native California. With this role, she follows in the footsteps of Gertrude Lawrence, Deborah Kerr, Celeste Holm, Angela Lansbury and even Marie Osmond. As Anna Leonowens, an English widow and mother of a young son, she travels to Bangkok in the 1860s to teach the numerous children of Siam's stubborn, proud ruler. Though Anna and the king frequently clash when she arrives, a mutual respect and unrequited love develops.

Question: So how long have you been touring in The King and I?

Powers: Since January. But I did it in England two years ago. I have not been around a lot in the United States. I was married to a Frenchman -- we have been divorced now -- and living outside the United States a great deal and doing a lot of work in Africa, as is my habit. It was a nice opportunity to work with the same actor [as the king] as I did in England, Ronobir Lahiri.

Q.: Musicals don't get much better than The King and I.

Powers: I think it's fair enough to say that Rodgers and Hammerstein are some of the best of the best [composers], and hardly anything they did did not have a wonderful female role. But I think this is the biggest and the best.

In actual fact, it was commissioned by Gertrude Lawrence as a vehicle for herself. She owned the rights to Anna and the King of Siam, which she then shopped around. When [Rodgers & Hammerstein] were interested in doing it, they joined forces. But poor Miss Lawrence was suffering from cancer and during the first six months of the play's run she died.

Q: The "Shall We Dance?" number is the stuff of a lot of little girls' fantasies -- Anna waltzing around with the king in that beautiful gown.

Powers: Do you know how much it weighs? Would you like to have it on? Oh my God. It's a monster of a costume. You are wearing pantaloons and everything underneath, and you have to have the corsetry to be able to hold up the skirt. It is probably much more fun to watch.

Q: Do you have a favorite number in the show?

Powers: My favorite number is not one that I do, but it's beautiful.

Q: Is it "Something Wonderful"?

Powers: Yes. That is the showstopper. Truly, it's a pleasure to be doing a play where you are not only privileged to do a work of such magnificence from start to finish but also to be bringing it to whatever new audiences we have, the children, certainly, and other people who somehow managed to miss it. . . . This is the great American art form.

Q: Have you been singing a long time?

Powers: I have been doing a lot of work in the theater in England. My first big break was as a dancer who would sing a little, but I can't get my leg up that high [anymore]!

Q: Some performances on this tour have benefited the William Holden Wildlife Foundation in Kenya, which you founded. Can you talk about what the foundation does?

Powers: The foundation works in concert with a game ranch. It was established to carry out the concept of backing up specific-animal preservation with education. On one hand, you can do the work of preserving the animals with captive-breeding programs, but if you don't educate people for the long term, the minute your back is turned, the animals will be gone. So the education part of it is crucial to any long-term preservation concept. I spend whatever time I can there.

Hart to Hart DVD Box Art, Stills and Clips

http://www.meredy.com/hart2hart/sony.html

TV on DVD By R.D. Heldenfels

I was not a fan of Hart to Hart when the romantic adventure ran on ABC from 1979 to 1984. But I enjoyed the audio commentary on the new DVD of Hart to Hart: The Complete First Season (Sony, premiere movie and 22 episodes, six discs, $49.95).

Executive producer Tom Mankiewicz and stars Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers offer a relaxed and conversational look at the show during commentary on the premiere. They joke about the plots and dialogue, offer up trivia (Sugar Ray Robinson was Wagner's first choice to play servant Max) and have such a good time, it makes the show seem better.

The DVD also includes a short feature on the making of the show.

Timeless musical comes to Strand

It's a timeless image. A woman dressed in a flowing hoop skirt being flung around a massive ballroom by a barefoot, bald, powerful man to the sounds of a symphony orchestra, the phrase "Shall we dance?" lingering on their lips.

For many fans of musical theater, "The King and I" resonates today as much as it did during the show's initial run in 1951. Now, more than half a century after the show first floored Broadway audiences, Myrtle Beach theater-goers have an opportunity to see this tale of cultural melding, gender clashes and the romance of mutual respect, tonight through Sunday at The Palace Theatre.

Stefanie Powers, known for her role as the saucy Jennifer Hart opposite Robert Wagner in "Hart to Hart," stars as Anna Leonowens, a British governess sent in the 1860s to educate the children of the King of Siam. "The show stands on its own as one of the most exceptional pieces of musical theater ever written," Powers said via phone from a tour stop in Florida. "One must consider these extraordinary pieces from the golden age of musical theater as a true American art form, rather than revivals. They are among the best stage pieces ever created."

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein were revolutionaries in the world of musical theater, whose shows have exhibited unusual staying power in the fickle world of the stage. "Before 'Showboat' musicals were written around the songs, but Rodgers and Hammerstein came up with their own formula, writing the story first and associating the songs with the story points," said Gregory London, an assistant professor in Coastal Carolina University's Theater department. "Musicals before that were more like pastiches or comedy reviews where there would be a juggler, a dog act and some popular songs sung individually, true to the medium's burlesque origins."

And once Rodgers and Hammerstein's formula hit New York audiences, there was no turning back. "They had what was known as the 'RH' factor, and it was something that everyone wanted to emulate on Broadway," London said. "There was one time where Rodgers and Hammerstein had four musicals running at the same time on Broadway: 'The King and I,' 'Carousel,' 'Oklahoma' and 'South Pacific' were all hits all at the same time, truly a testament to their popularity. No other composing team has ever achieved that."

Far from fluffy fare, Rodgers and Hammerstein managed to address serious issues in their work. "The story of 'The King and I' is essentially about cultural imperialism," London said. "What do we do about a show that's primarily racist, a show that says you need to drop your own culture and customs and do exactly what the English white people tell you to do? It's a prime example of how British imperialism polluted many cultures."

As Leonowens begins to educate the children of the King in British manners, culture and language, she clashes with the no-nonsense monarch (a role made famous by the chrome-domed Yul Brynner). "Rodgers and Hammerstein were fantastic humanists and pre-feminists as well," London said. "They wrote very strong female characters like Anna Leonowens. But Anna has her flaws, also. Because the King is a non-white, non-English speaking person, she is much more assertive and aggressive. She would have had a much more difficult time standing up to the King of England."

But once a genuine admiration is established between them, both characters soften considerably. "There's a moment where Anna is dressing and the King spies her bare shoulder upon entering her room, which he finds very erotic," Powers said. "That signals a change in their relationship. Then, after the party that evening, as they relax and after she's had a few glasses of wine, an intimate mood is created."

The moment that follows is fraught with tension and ardor, though both characters do their best to contain it. Instead of leaping in to one another's arms, they release their passion in the whirlwind polka that accompanies the showstopper "Shall We Dance?" Powers and her co-star, Ronobir Lahiri, dazzle the audience with their spinning number, made more difficult by the fact that Powers' gown is an exact replica of the original that Gertrude Lawrence graced the stage in. The dress is six feet in diameter and weighs fourteen pounds.

The logistics of the rest of the show are tremendous as well. With more than 70 people in the cast, simply getting everyone to the next venue is a challenge. But director Baayork Lee, who played a princess in the original stage production with Lawrence and Brynner, has his hands full with this grand and technically formidable show. "Given the demands of the production and the expense of it, this may be the last time this show tours for many years," Powers said.

Powers believes the reason behind the show's longevity lies within the duo that created it. "The lyrics, the libretto, the music of Rodgers and Hammerstein is still timeless, even 50 years after its creation," Powers said. "You come out of the theater humming the tunes, and I don't know any show over the last 20 years that's done that."

Powers hopes to reach not only those who are longtime fans of the show, but younger people with less exposure to musical theater. "I think that what they need are positive theater experiences and good material to see," Powers said.

Myrtle Beach, SC - Stefanie Powers stars in 'The King and I' at Palace

The Broadway production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical "The King And I," starring Stefanie Powers, is at 8 tonight; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2 p.m. Sunday at The Palace Theatre at Broadway at the Beach.

The Tony Award-winning musical features ornate sets and costumes. Powers headlines this production featuring songs such as "Hello, Young Lovers," "I Whistle A Happy Tune," "Shall We Dance?" and "Getting To Know You."

SPCA To Hold 3rd 'Top Hat & Tails' Gala

Briarcliff Manor, NY - The SPCA of Westchester will hold its exciting third annual Top Hat & Tails fundraiser this year on Saturday, November 19, from 6:00 to 11:00 p.m. at the Tarrytown House in Tarrytown, NY.

The elegant black-tie event, for humans and their canine companions, hopes to raise $250,000 to help support the SPCA’s life saving animal rescue programs including: cruelty investigations, shelter and rehabilitation of abused and abandoned dogs, cats and horses, low cost veterinary services and community outreach programs. The SPCA receives no federal, state, or county funds, and relies solely on the financial support of people who care about the welfare of animals.

The Trotta family of Mount Kisco will be honored at the event for their continued investment of time and funding to the SPCA. The family includes Bonnie, Tom, James and Johnny Trotta and their two dogs Chewy and Angel, along with Peter Guernsey, Katama and Jay Eastman and their children Merrill and Jack. They will receive the “John Beach Memorial Award,” named for John Beach, a 30-year SPCA Board member who passed away last April.

“I got involved with the SPCA because of John Beach,“ said Bonnie Trotta. “For John, it was an honor to be able to help the less fortunate. He cared and he gave, and he asked others to do the same. I am honored only to be trying to stay in his footsteps.”

With her prominent and generous parents as role models, Bonnie Trotta learned about philanthropy at an early age, and since became a volunteer and continued benefactor for local hospitals and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northern Westchester. Her husband Tom, who lost his parents at a young age, helped to support his siblings and ran several family businesses. He later became a drug and alcohol abuse counselor.

“Other than loving animals and having dogs, cats, chickens snakes, hamster, guinea pigs, fish and hermit crabs as pets, my biggest association with the SPCA is our dog, Rocky, that we adopted there,” added Ms. Trotta.

The “Top Hat and Tails” Gala will also feature noted "Horse Whisperer" Tim Hayes and his horse Austin, as well as pet photographer, Liza Marguilles, to capture a portrait of people and their pets. “It’s going to be a great evening of fun and entertainment for both two-legged and four-legged party goers,” said Shannon Laukhuf, Director of Development, “In fact, we’re not sure who enjoys the evening more – the people or their pets!”

The cocktail hour will be followed by a formal sit-down dinner for humans, doggie delicacies from Cleo's Barkery for canines, and both silent and live auctions with fabulous items such as exciting trips and excursions, golf outings, jewelry, fine dining gift certificates, and more. Flowers are being donated by Michael George of Hybrid.

Westchester’s favorite weatherman, Joe Rayo from News 12 Westchester will be the Master of Ceremonies for the evening.

The honorary Celebrity Committee includes Catherine Crier, Stefanie Powers and Betty White. More than 50 volunteers work to make the event a success each year and many corporations lend their support as well.

“This year promises to be even more exciting than last year – it’s a special evening where people are able to share a gala evening with their best four-legged friends,” said Lisa Rockefeller, Benefit Event Committee Chair. “It’s also our biggest fundraising event of the year, and we’re hoping to exceed our goal so that we can continue to provide not only shelter for these animals, but also a safe haven from abusive situations.”

Individual tickets are $250 and sponsor tickets range from $1,000 for a “Patron” with two seats and special recognition in the Gala journal to $15,000 for a “Best in Show” with a table for 10 seats in the VIP section, full page color Gala journal ad, and logo on sponsor credit display. For more information on purchasing tickets, please call (914) 941-2894, ext. 19.

Founded in 1883, the SPCA of Westchester is a not-for-profit humane organization chartered as the primary animal cruelty prevention and intervention agency for Westchester County. Each year its agents investigate over 1,000 cases of suspected animal abuse, resulting in steps to correct the problem if evidence of cruelty is found.

Currently, the shelter is equipped to house over 150 dogs and cats, and its Simpson Spay/Neuter Clinic, offers low-cost spay/neuter surgeries and vaccinations in an effort to help keep pets healthy. Each year the animal shelter adopts more than 800 homeless companion animals into loving new homes and reunites another 300 lost pets with their families. The SPCA never euthanizes an animal except in cases of terminal illness, extreme aggression or the inability to maintain a reasonable quality of life in a shelter environment.

Hart to Hart - More Details and Artwork for Season 1

This is my boss: Jonathan Hart (Robert Wagner); a self-made millionaire. He's quite a guy. This is Mrs. H. (Stefanie Powers) She's gorgeous. She's one lady who knows how to take care of herself. By the way, my name is Max (Lionel Stander). I take care of both of them - which ain't easy. 'Cause when they met, it was murder.



Created by bestselling novelist Sidney Sheldon, HART TO HART: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON stars Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers as Jonathan and Jennifer Hart, a fabulously rich couple who always seems to become entangled in an exotic blend of mystery, intrigue and adventure. Accompanied by their loyal servant Max (Lionel Sander), the smart and sexy twosome jet set around the world, where they solve cases ranging from espionage to murder, in 22 breezy episodes that mix excitement and danger with just a dash of romance.



Sony announced last month, that Hart to Hart - The Complete First Season will be available for DVD on October 25th, 2005. Sony has now sent me more artwork for Hart to Hart - The Complete First Season. The back cover shows the below extras will be featured on the DVD:

* Commentary for Hart to Hart Pilot Episode

* Featurette: The Hart of Season One - Includes Interviews with Sidney Sheldon - Creator; Leonard Goldberg - Executive Producer; Tom Mankiewicz - Write/Director; Robert Wagner - "Jonathan Hart"; Stefanie Powers - "Jennifer Hart"



Hart to Hart - The Complete First Season is available for pre-order at Amazon, for only $34.96.

Tallahassee - Stefanie Powers a natural as charming Anna

Neither geographic distance nor the detachment of telephonic communication can mask the magnitude of actress Stefanie Powers' considerable charisma.

Speaking from her hotel room on the opposite coast recently, Powers held forth with eloquence, humor, passion and impeccable diction on the art of acting, the Golden Era of musical theater, the perils of living in a disposable society, her passion for wildlife conservation and her concern about the fate of the planet.

Powers is currently wowing audiences playing a character very much like herself - the outspoken, upright, intelligent, thoughtful, charming and deeply compassionate governess Anna in the touring production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's beloved classic "The King & I." The show visits the Civic Center for a two-night run next week.

"'The King & I' comes from that glorious golden period of American theater when one could say the art form of musical theater was created," Powers said. "We must regard these works in the proper perspective, as pieces of classical American theater. They set the standard for what musical theater is all about."

There are few works in the music-theater canon as classic and beloved as those of Rodgers and Hammerstein. And "The King & I" is one of the most brilliant and emotionally alluring of the duo's collaborations.

"What is better than 'The King & I'?" Powers asked. "It's set in a very romantic time.... We've lost that by virtue of all this reality-TV junk fouling the airwaves. It's lowered our expectations of what romance should be."

Those most familiar with Powers through her role as glamorous, globe-trotting detective Jennifer Hart in the popular TV series "Hart to Hart" might be surprised by her fervor for musical theater. But the red-haired Renaissance woman began her professional career at the age of 15 as a dancer for legendary choreographer Jerome Robbins on the set of "West Side Story."

Powers went on to amass an impressive catalog of credits that includes feature films, television series, mini-series, stage productions and even home videos on horseback riding and exercise routines.

As comfortable as she is on stage and before the camera, one would think Powers was born to be an actress. Not so, she said.

"I wanted to be a veterinarian when I was a child," Powers said. "It was a natural extension of my love for animals, and it was also inspired by the fact that my stepfather raised raceÂhorses. The vet would come every morning to the stables, and I decided that's what I wanted to do, too."

Nowadays, Powers' love of living creatures finds a powerful outlet in her work with the William Holden Wildlife Foundation, founded to honor the memory of the late actor who shared her life for nearly a decade before his death in 1981. Powers spends a significant portion of her time at the Mount Kenya Game Ranch, the foundation's wildlife sanctuary in Africa.

"We have an ongoing educational program in Kenya for the locals to familiarize them with the need for conservation and preservation and what that means to them personally in their everyday lives," Powers said. "These are people whose traditional lifestyle has come to an end. They're in transition between the tribal lifestyle and the modern age. The old ways of farming and patterns of behavior can no longer be sustained.

"We offer alternatives to destroying the habitats of animals and humans in rural areas. We are seeing results, but they're very subtle."

IF YOU GO

What: "The King & I," starring Stefanie Powers

When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday

Where: Civic Center, 505 W. Pensacola St.

Cost: $48, $42 and $32

Phone: 222-0400 or (800) 322-3602