Emma Kelly and Tyler Smith know that being part of a Suttons Bay all-school musical production is more than just showing up for practice.

SUTTONS BAY Public Schools will present an
all-school production of The King and I on
Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m., and Sunday
at 2 p.m. in the high school auditorium.
Featured in the production are (from left)
Clyde Woods, a sixth grader, as Prince
Chululongkorn; junior Colin Brazeau as the
King; junior Cassandra Buffum as Anna;
and sixth-grader Ella Bruining as Lucy,
Anna's daughter.

The two sophomores are part of a cast and crew of 65 Suttons Bay students, ranging from third grade to seniors, who will stage the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I on Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. Performances will be held in the school auditorium, and tickets can be purchased at the high school office during regular school hours or by calling 642-0095.

The King and I is set in the 1860s around the king’s palace in Bangkok, Siam. Anna is a teacher hired by the king to educate the royal prince and princesses in the palace. Part of the plot revolves around a slave girl and her boyfriend. The musical features some well-known songs, such as Getting to Know You, Whistle A Happy Tune and Shall We Dance?

Kelly, Smith and a host of fellow thespians, musicians, dancers and volunteers were painting sets and making props in preparation for the first technical – or what used to be called "dress" – rehearsal Friday afternoon.

Kelly and Smith were applying light blue paint by using a rolled-up rag, dipping it in paint, then rolling it across the surface of a backdrop to give it a textured look. The two sophomores were having as much fun dipping the rags into the paint as rolling it along the surface.

"I’m helping out just to have fun, I don’t have a role in the play," said Smith.

Kelly, who plays the King’s head wife, Lady Thiang, said she has been part of the Suttons Bay spring theater production every year she’s been at school. Kelly auditioned for the lead role of Anna and is very happy with the part of Lady Thiang.

"I’m very pleased with the role. I like being a part of this every year, it’s a lot of fun," she said. Kelly said her favorite song in The King and I is Hello Young Lovers. "It’s stuck in my head," she said.

Junior Cassandra Buffum spent Friday morning painting masks and putting other finishing touches on props for the musical. Buffum won the lead role of Anna, and plays opposite junior Colin Brazeau, who is the King. Buffum said she also has auditioned for the play every year she could at Suttons Bay, and relishes the part of Anna.

"It’s a lot of fun being a part of these productions. I especially like the costumes and songs in The King and I,"she said. Her favorite song of all the productions is Hello Young Lovers.

Of the 10 or so cast members on hand Friday morning, they were evenly split as to their favorite song in the musical: either Young Lovers, or Getting to Know You.

Buffum said they have been rehearsing, and learning dialogue and musical numbers. Chief for her and Brazeau is the critical dance number. She said she took a big step in "feeling" the role last week when the cast began rehearsing in costume.

"It helps you get into character, helps you convey a lot of emotion," she said. Plus, with the costumes on, she and Brazeau can work out difficulties with dance steps. "There is a lot to my costume, but it’s all a lot of fun," Buffum said.

Toni Morrison is directing the production, with Margaret Lott as music director. Manning said she got the idea of putting on The King and I after seeing it again last year and receiving suggestions from parents and students at Suttons Bay.

"The most difficult part of this production when we started working on it was getting costumes. Usually, I can borrow costumes from different schools and theater groups, but we had to make a lot of the costumes this year. Thank goodness for Darlene Garland and her whole crew," Morrison said.

Garland has made costumes and sets for Suttons Bay’s theatrical productions for many years.

"We had to order a lot of oriental fabric, about 150 yards, to make all the wives’ dresses and outfits for the king, prince and soldiers," Garland said.

Working with Kate Fiebing and Toddy Reiger and a small crew of sewers, Garland was able to make just about every piece of costume needed for the production.

"With oriental fabrics, most are a brocade material; each side is different, so you can reverse the piece of clothing. It really saved us a lot of time, because each costume can be a whole other outfit," she said. Garland was able to borrow some pants from the Interlochen Arts Academy.

While most of the attention of those sitting in the audience this weekend will be focused on the students on stage, there is a whole other crew behind the scenes who will be running lights, moving props and making sure the microphones work. Senior Megan Morrisey, one of the backstage workers, is the stage manager and prefers being involved in the production from that end.

"It’s more technical, I think, on this side and I think a little more stressful. But, it’s fun being involved and learning how to operate all the equipment," she said.