Cabrillo artistic director Lewis Wilkenfeld will helm the production, which is scheduled to begin Oct. 17 in the Kavli Theatre at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza. Performances will continue through Oct. 26.
Gibson will co-star opposite Daniel Guzman as The King of Siam. Guzman played Grantaire in the recent production of Les Misérables at the Hollywood Bowl and has also been seen in productions of A Chorus Line and The Who's Tommy.
The production will feature the original Jerome Robbins choreography of the "Small House of Uncle Thomas" ballet, re-created by Irene Cho, who performed the piece under Robbins' supervision in The King and I and Jerome Robbins' Broadway. The creative team will also include Darryl Archibald (musical director) and Heather Castillo (additional choreography/musical staging).
"East meets West in The King and I," according to press notes, "as Anna Leonowens and the King of Siam reach across cultural and social borders to find each other. Anna, a young widow, mother and teacher, sets out for a new life in the Far East, and meets her match in the King, an inquisitive and powerful monarch who is as much a boy as a man. They each find the other to be more than expected, in this warm, funny and touching tale of love everlasting." The classic musical features such tunes as "Getting To Know You," "I Whistle a Happy Tune," "Shall We Dance," "Hello, Young Lovers," and "The March of the Siamese Children."
After early pop success, Long Island native Deborah Gibson focused on the musical theatre, performing in the Broadway companies of Les Misérables, Grease!, Cabaret and Beauty and the Beast as well as the national tours of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Funny Girl and Cinderella. Gibson also appeared in the North Shore Music Theatre’s production of Chicago and opposite Betty Buckley in the Paper Mill mounting of Gypsy. She was seen on FOX-TV's "Skating with Celebrities" and in the film "Coffee Date." Cabrillo Music Theatre is located at the Kavli Theatre, Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, Countrywide Performing Arts Center, 2100 Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks. For tickets call (805) 449-ARTS (2787).
