Gertrude Lawrence cameras and lighting could not function properly inside a Broadway theater. In 1943, Lawrence hosted a weekly series of American radio shows, some of them featuring discussions with guests and others adaptations of Hollywood hit films. In 1947, she returned to NBC for a production of the 1913 Shaw play "The Great Catherine". To promote "The King and I", Lawrence appeared on various television programs, including the Ed Sullivan-hosted "Toast of the Town", with Rodgers and Hammerstein joining her to perform selections from the show. Additionally, she appeared on several BBC Radio interview and variety shows before and after World
The King and I a musical. Dorothy Hammerstein had known Gertrude Lawrence since 1925, when they had both appeared in "André Charlot's London Revue of 1924" on Broadway and on tour in North America. Rodgers and Hammerstein had disliked Landon's novel as a basis for a musical when it was published, and their views still held. It consists of vignettes of life at the Siamese court, interspersed with descriptions of historical events unconnected with each other, except that the King creates most of the difficulties in the episodes, and Anna tries to resolve them. Rodgers and Hammerstein could see no coherent story from which