The Whitefish Theatre Company is bringing the splendor of Siam to town for the holidays with their production of “The King and I.” The musical will run for three weekends at the O’Shaughnessy Center in Whitefish, Dec. 5-7, 12-14, and 19-21. Friday and Saturday shows begin at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday performances begin at 4 p.m. There will be a “sneak preview” night Dec. 4 at 7:30 p.m.

“The King and I” is a world-renowned musical brought to life originally by composer Richard Rodgers and writer Oscar Hammerstein II. It tells the story of Anna, a British governess called to the court of Siam in the early 1860s to tutor the children of the King. Once in the royal palace, Anna and the King struggle to understand each other and work together. The plot follows their journey to find understanding and acceptance, set to an incredible score of musical numbers and featuring a stunning stage and costumes.

Christoph Lawton, playing Kralahome in the production, said, “The costumes are just gorgeous. It’s amazing that we have a community theater able to give this level of production. This is absolutely as good as it gets.”

Amy Beth Chisholm, playing Anna, echoed those sentiments.

“The costumes are spectacular, but getting into mine ... I can’t do it without help!” Chisholm said. “But that’s why they all had to have ladies in waiting, right?”

Chisholm described Anna, the main character, as “sassy” and added that she was thrilled with how all the pieces were coming together for the final production. “This will be a beautiful show,” Chisholm said.

“The King and I” is based on the 1944 novel “Anna and the King of Siam” by Margaret Landon, which itself is based on the memoirs of Anna Leonowens who was the governess to the children of the King of Siam in the 1860s.

Director Rebecca Schaffer said the entire cast spent a good amount of time taking the cultural aspects of the musical into consideration. She said it was very important to her coming into the production to address the cultural appropriation and caricaturizations of the Siamese.

“There’s so much depth and substance to this culture,” Schaffer said. “We [the cast] explored and researched together to really look at what’s accurate and not in the production.”

“We want the audience to leave with a sense of understanding of this production and its history.”

Schaffer was so serious about keeping history, culture and storytelling at the core of the show that she even designed it into the set. The floor tiles, all 650 of them, are the pages of Anna Leonowens’ memoirs. She described the process of printing, cutting and laying all the tiles as “a challenge” more than worth the effort.

Greg Postell, playing Sir Edward Ramsey, said he enjoyed learning about Siam the country (which is now Thailand), as well as their culture as part of this production. He also liked that the children in the cast were asked to participate in the research and use the knowledge on stage.

“This is a great bunch of kids,” Postell said. “Watching them grow and become the parts has been absolutely fun.”

One of the children actors appearing in “The King and I” is Faith Arakaki, 11, playing Prince Chulalongkorn. She said she is “very excited for opening night” and that it’s “just a fun play.”

Audiences will be treated to live musicians and stunning costumes during the 2-hour, 15-minute show. The cast of 40 has been supported through the production by Karla West, musical director; Rob Akey, scenic artist; and Colin Arakaki, lighting and sound designer. The detailed period costumes are designed by Lonnie Porro, Marie Merkel and their cast of seamstresses.

Tickets are $20 for adults, $18 for seniors, and $8 for students with reserved seating. Tickets for the sneak preview performance on Dec. 4 are $10 sold only at the door. Tickets can be purchased at the O’Shaughnessy Center Box Office, 1 Central Ave., Whitefish, or by calling 862-5371. Box office hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and one hour before performance times. Tickets can also be purchased online at www.whitefishtheatreco.org.

Mikey Winn, playing the King in the musical, wanted to encourage people to attend the show and support local theater, which is “such an art.”

“Plus, it’s really fun to pretend you’re in Siam when it’s this cold outside,” Winn said.

Entertainment editor Stefanie Johnson can be reached at 758-4439 or ThisWeek@dailyinterlake.com.