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 by David Merrick, and received five Tony Award nominations. South Pacific opened on Broadway on April 7, 1949, and ran for over five years. Its songs "Bali Ha'i", "Younger Than Springtime", and "Some Enchanted Evening" have become standards. The play is based upon two short stories by James A. Michener from his book "Tales of the South Pacific", which itself was the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1948. For their adaptation, Rodgers and Hammerstein, along with co-writer Joshua Logan, won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1950. In the original production, Mary Martin starred as the heroine