Patricia Morison her former Broadway co-star Alfred Drake. The play ran on Broadway from December 30, 1948 until July 28, 1951, for a total of 1,077 performances. Morison also played in the London production of "Kiss Me, Kate," which ran for 400 performances. In February 1954, Morison took over the role of Anna Leonowens in the Rodgers and Hammerstein production of "The King and I," which co-starred Yul Brynner in his star-making role as the King of Siam. The musical premiered in 1951, originally with Gertrude Lawrence as Leonowens. Lawrence was subsequently replaced by Celeste Holm, Constance Carpenter, Annamary Dickey, and finally
Rodgers and Hammerstein of a show-stopping number, "Oklahoma!"; the deletion of the musical number "Boys and Girls Like You and Me", which would soon after be replaced with a reprise of "People Will Say We're in Love"; and the decision to re-title the musical after the song. The original Broadway production opened on March 31, 1943, at the St. James Theatre. Although the typical musical of the time was usually written around the talents of a specific performer, such as Ethel Merman or Fred Astaire, no stars were used in the production. Ultimately the original cast included Alfred Drake (Curly), Joan Roberts (Laurey),