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
Allegro (musical) the story of a life, not through events but through generalities. This is now what would be called a Brechtian approach." A decade after "Allegro"'s premiere, after learning of his fatal cancer, Hammerstein returned to the musical, hoping to correct its flaws, but he did not complete the project. While recording an oral history tape for Columbia University, Hammerstein stated, "I intended Dick to write music for it <nowiki>[the chorus in </nowiki>"Allegro"] but we wound up reciting the chorus instead ... I'm not blaming anyone, because we all accepted it, we all collaborated ... but it was a mistake." Rodgers