Kelli O’Hara reteams with her ‘South Pacific’ director Bartlett Sher in the evergreen 1951 Rodgers & Hammerstein musical

The mutual fascination and eternal struggle for understanding across the cultural divide between East and West is played out on a magnificent scale in Lincoln Center Theater’s breathtaking revival of “The King and I.” As he did with the company’s transcendent “South Pacific” seven years ago, director Bartlett Sher banishes even the faintest trace of mid-century quaintness or patronizing exoticism from the material, treating the 1951 Rodgers & Hammerstein classic with unimpeachable dramatic integrity and emotional authenticity that are equaled by this landmark production’s exquisite musicianship and vocals. As for the superlative leads, Kelli O’Hara and Ken Watanabe, to say they are outstanding seems almost unfair given the uniform excellence of the massive ensemble. The crippling economics of Broadway have long since ushered in the era of downsized casts and mini-orchestras, so the sheer spectacle value of an opulently costumed 50-member troupe, accompanied by 29 musicians in the pit, is enough to make a musical-theater lover’s head explode. But this experience is not simply proof that size matters. It’s also about texture. From the pared-down yet richly suggestive set designs of Michael Yeargan — which studiously avoid the kitschy Orientalism of so many revivals — to the nuanced characterizations and abiding preference for controlled, expressive singing over big-belt bravado, this production is a welcome testament to the power of delicacy in the age of the hard sell. I never wanted it to end.