Editing The King and I (section)

=== Act 1 ===
In 1862, a strong-willed, widowed schoolteacher, Anna Leonowens, arrives in Bangkok, Siam (later known as Thailand) at the request of the King of Siam to tutor his many children.  Anna's young son, Louis, fears the severe countenance of the King's prime minister, the Kralahome, but Anna refuses to be intimidated ("[[I Whistle a Happy Tune]]"). The Kralahome has come to escort them to the palace, where they are expected to live – a violation of Anna's contract, which calls for them to live in a separate house.  She considers returning to Singapore aboard the vessel that brought them, but goes with her son and the Kralahome.

[[File:King 1977.jpg|thumb|280px|alt=Black and white photo of a theatrical scene: a middle-aged man with a shaved head and imposing presence has his right arm extended to introduce a group of children in Asian dress to a woman in a crinoline dress and bonnet in the foreground at right, who is partially turned upstage.  The children are mostly kneeling and have their arms raised in greeting; one child (probably Crown Prince Chulalongkorn) stands and bows.|The King of Siam (Yul Brynner) presents (some of) his children to Anna (Constance Towers), in 1977]]
Several weeks pass, during which Anna and Louis are confined to their palace rooms.  The King receives a gift from the king of Burma, a lovely slave girl named Tuptim, to be one of his many wives.  She is escorted by Lun Tha, a scholar who has come to copy a design for a temple, and the two are secretly in love.  Tuptim, left alone, declares that the King may own her, but not her heart ("My Lord and Master").  The King gives Anna her first audience. The schoolteacher is a part of his plan for the modernization of Siam; he is impressed when she already knows this.  She raises the issue of her house with him, he dismisses her protests and orders her to talk with his wives.  They are interested in her, and she tells them of her late husband, Tom ("Hello, Young Lovers").  The King presents her new pupils; Anna is to teach those of his children whose mothers are in favor with him – several dozen – and is to teach their mothers as well.  The princes and princesses enter in procession ("March of the Royal Siamese Children").  Anna is charmed by the children, and formality breaks down after the ceremony as they crowd around her.

Anna has not given up on the house, and teaches the children proverbs and songs extolling the virtues of home life, to the King's irritation.  The King has enough worries without battling the schoolteacher, and wonders why the world has become so complicated ("A Puzzlement").  The children and wives are hard at work learning English ("The Royal Bangkok Academy").  The children are surprised by a map showing how small Siam is compared with the rest of the world ("[[Getting to Know You (song)|Getting to Know You]]").  As the [[crown prince]], Chulalongkorn, disputes the map, the King enters a chaotic schoolroom.  He orders the pupils to believe the teacher but complains to Anna about her lessons about "home".  Anna stands her ground and insists on the letter of her contract, threatening to leave Siam, much to the dismay of wives and children.  The King orders her to obey as "my servant"; she repudiates the term and hurries away.  The King dismisses school, then leaves, uncertain of his next action. Meanwhile, Lun Tha comes upon Tuptim, and they muse about having to hide their relationship ("We Kiss in a Shadow").

[[File:King dictates to Anna.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A man with a shaven head, wearing Asian dress, reclines on the floor and gestures at a woman in 19th century dress, who is writing, apparently at the man's dictation.|Lawrence as Anna takes dictation from the King (Brynner), 1951]]
In her room, Anna replays the confrontation in her mind, her anger building ("Shall I Tell You What I Think of You?").  Lady Thiang, the King's head wife, tells Anna that the King is troubled by his portrayal in the West as a barbarian, as the British are being urged to take over Siam as a [[protectorate]].  Anna is shocked by the accusations – the King is a polygamist, but he is no barbarian – but she is reluctant to see him after their argument.  Lady Thiang convinces her that the King is deserving of support ("Something Wonderful").  Anna goes to him and finds him anxious for reconciliation.  The King tells her that the British are sending an envoy to Bangkok to evaluate the situation.  Anna "guesses" – the only guise in which the King will accept advice – that the King will receive the envoy in European style, and that the wives will be dressed in Western fashion.  Tuptim has been writing a play based on a book that Anna has lent her, ''[[Uncle Tom's Cabin]]'', that can be presented to the guests.  News is brought to the King that the British are arriving much earlier than thought, and so Anna and the wives are to stay up all night to prepare.  The King assembles his family for a Buddhist prayer for the success of the venture and also promises before Buddha that Anna will receive her own house "as provided in agreement, etc., etc."