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
The King and I entire score to Lawrence, including Lawrence's own songs. Lawrence listened calmly, but when she met Rodgers and Hammerstein the following day, she treated Rodgers coldly, apparently seeing the composer's actions as flaunting her vocal deficiencies. Hammerstein and Rodgers' doubts about whether Lawrence could handle the part were assuaged by the sheer force of her acting. James Poling, a writer for "Collier's" who was allowed to attend the rehearsals, wrote of Lawrence preparing "Shall I Tell You What I Think of You?": At his first meeting with Sharaff, Brynner, who had only a fringe of hair, asked what he was to