Ken Watanabe returns to The King and I tonight

Tony and Academy Award nominee Ken Watanabe returns to the role of The King of Siam tonight in the Tony Award-winning revival of The King and I . His return was delayed after undergoing treatment for stomach cancer, as he was originally scheduled to return on 1 March. He will play a limited engagement through to 17 April 2016. Hoon Lee played his final performance in the role yesterday, 16 March 2016.

As previously announced, Jose Llana will then reprise the role from his run last Summer and play the King of Siam from 19 April to 1 May. And finally, TV star of "Lost" and "Hawaii Five-0" Daniel Dae Kim will make his Broadway debut from 3 May to 26 June 2016 for a strictly limited eight week engagement in the role. Tony winner Kelli O'Hara will play her final performance as Anna Leonowens on 17 April 2016. Analisa Leaming will assume the role from 19 April until 1 May, before Marin Mazzie continues as Anna from 3 May 2016.

The principal cast currently includes Tony winner Kelli O'Hara (Anna Leonowens), Tony nominee Ken Watanabe (King of Siam), Tony winner Ruthie Ann Miles (Lady Thiang), Ashley Park (as Tuptim), Conrad Ricamora (Lun Tha), Edward Baker-Duly (Sir Edward Ramsey), Jon Viktor Corpuz (Prince Chulalongkorn), Murphy Guyer (Captain Orton), Jake Lucas (Louis), Paul Nakauchi (Kralahome), and Marc Oka (Phra Alack).

This Broadway revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I , directed by Tony winner Bartlett Sher, opened at LCT's Vivian Beaumont Theatre on 16 April 2015, following previews from 12 March 2015, where it is currently booking to 4 September 2016.

The production opened to glowing reviews and was nominated for nine Tony Awards, eventually winning four: Best Revival of a Musical, Best Actress in a Musical (Kelli O'Hara), Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Ruthie Ann Miles), and Best Costume Design of a Musical (Catherine Zuber).

The creative team behind The King and I features scenic design by Michael Yeargan, costume design by Catherine Zuber, lighting design by Donald Holder, and sound design by Scott Lehrer.

Ken Watanabe made his Broadway debut as the King of Siam in 2015, which also earned him a Tony nomination. His Japanese theatre credits include 'Dialogue with Horowitz,' 'Hamlet,' 'Shitayamannen-cho monogatari,' 'The Lion in Winter,' and 'The Royal Hunt of the Sun.' On screen Watanabe earned Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations in 2004 for "The Last Samurai." Other notable credits include "Inception," "Letters from Iwo Jima," "Memoirs of a Geisha," "Batman Begins," and "Godzilla."

- by Tom Millward