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
Me and Juliet Hammerstein's turn to give in to his partner; Rodgers had agreed to the project that became the 1947 musical "Allegro", their initial failure, under pressure from Hammerstein, who had long dreamed of doing a serious musical about an ordinary man. According to Stephen Sondheim, a protégé of Hammerstein, "Oscar was able to keep the partnership together by taking Dick's suggestion<nowiki> [for a backstage musical]</nowiki>, which he did not want to take." As the two discussed the backstage idea, Hammerstein became more enthusiastic, suggesting that the show start with the stage entirely bare, as if the audience had come in not