Shall We Dance? (1951 song) Shall We Dance? (1951 song) "Shall We Dance?" is a show tune from the 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, "The King and I". It is sung by Anna Leonowens and the King of Siam, played by Gertrude Lawrence (in the original Broadway production) and Yul Brynner respectively. In addition, it was sung by Valerie Hobson in the original London West End production, and Marni Nixon (who only voiced-over songs while Deborah Kerr acted) in the 1956 film of "The King and I". The song is about Anna reminiscing over the idea of finding love at an English dance. The song
Rodgers and Hammerstein the mystery guests on episode number 298 of "What's My Line", which first aired on February 19, 1956; blindfolded panelist Arlene Francis was able to correctly identify them. The pair made a rare feature film appearance in MGM's 1953 production "Main Street to Broadway", in which Rodgers played the piano and Hammerstein sang a song they had written. They also appeared in the trailer for the film version of "South Pacific" in 1958. While Rodgers and Hammerstein's work contains cheerful and often uplifting songs, they departed from the comic and sentimental tone of early 20th century musicals by seriously addressing