Stanley Green, in his Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre, viewed the central theme of The King and I as "the importance of mutual understanding between people of differing ethnic and cultural backgrounds", but Renshaw felt the musical suffered from 1950s attitudes when "Orientalism was used as an exoticism rather than a real understanding of the particular culture." He stated that his production was informed by authentic Thai cultural, aesthetic and religious ideas that he learned from visiting Thailand. A feature in Playbill commented that the production focused on the "clash of ideologies and cultures, of East versus West". Theatre arts professor Eileen Blumenthal, however, called the production "a King and I for the age of political correctness".Blumenthal, Eileen. "How Thai Is It?", American Theatre, July/August 1996, pp. 6–7 While she acknowledged that the musical's treatment of Asian cultures had come to be viewed as insensitive over the decades since its premiere, she argued that Rodgers and Hammerstein's script was more sensitive than most orientalist literature of its day, in that "West learns from East as well as the other way around", and that, moreover, the musical's treatment of its Asian subject is fantastical, not intended to be realistic. She concluded that the show is a documentary of "who we've been" in the West, and that The King and I should not be suppressed, because it is "too good".
stanley green in his encyclopedia of the musical theatre viewed the central theme of the king and i as "the importance of mutual understanding between people of differing ethnic and cultural backgrounds" but renshaw felt the musical suffered from 1950s attitudes when "orientalism was used as an exoticism rather than a real understanding of the particular culture" he stated that his production was informed by authentic thai cultural aesthetic and religious ideas that he learned from visiting thailand a feature in playbill commented that the production focused on the "clash of ideologies and cultures of east versus west" theatre arts professor eileen blumenthal however called the production "a king and i for the age of political correctness"blumenthal eileen "how thai is it" american theatre july/august 1996 pp 6–7 while she acknowledged that the musical's treatment of asian cultures had come to be viewed as insensitive over the decades since its premiere she argued that rodgers and hammerstein's script was more sensitive than most orientalist literature of its day in that "west learns from east as well as the other way around" and that moreover the musical's treatment of its asian subject is fantastical not intended to be realistic she concluded that the show is a documentary of "who we've been" in the west and that the king and i should not be suppressed because it is "too good"