The King and I incongruity of a Victorian British governess in the midst of an exotic court: "The first-act finale of "The King and I" will feature Miss Lawrence, Mr. Brynner, and a pink satin ball gown." Mielziner's set plan was the simplest of the four Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals he had worked on, with one main set (the throne room), a number of front-stage drops (for the ship and Anna's room, for example) and the entire stage cleared for "The Small House of Uncle Thomas". The show was budgeted at $250,000 (US$ in dollars) making it the most expensive Rodgers and Hammerstein production
Oscar Hammerstein II Jerome Kern had written "Ol' Man River." "Indeed not," she retorted. "Jerome Kern wrote 'dum, dum, dum-dum.' My husband wrote 'Ol' Man River'." Other Kern-Hammerstein musicals include "Sweet Adeline", "Music in the Air", "Three Sisters", and "Very Warm for May". Hammerstein also collaborated with Vincent Youmans ("Wildflower"), Rudolf Friml ("Rose-Marie"), and Sigmund Romberg ("The Desert Song" and "The New Moon"). Hammerstein's most successful and sustained collaboration began when he teamed up with Richard Rodgers to write a musical adaptation of the play "Green Grow the Lilacs". Rodgers' first partner, Lorenz Hart, originally planned to collaborate with Rodgers on this piece,