The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I premiered on this day, March 29, in 1951, at Broadway’s St. James Theatre. It ran for nearly three years, making it the fourth longest-running Broadway musical in history at the time, and it would go on to win the Tony Awards for Best Musical; Best Actress for Gertrude Lawrence, and Best Actor for Yul Brynner.

The King and I is the fifth musical by the team of composer Richard Rodgers and dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II, who Karsh photographed together in 1950.

Karsh photographed Yul Brynner in 1956. See more.