On January 17, 2001, actress and dancer Baayork Lee discussed landing her first role on Broadway at age 5, working with Richard Rodgers and other Broadway greats, and her passion for choreography. Interview conducted for Richard Rodgers: The Sweetest Sounds (2001), directed by Roger Sherman.
Chapters:
00:00 – Baayork Lee on being cast in “The King and I”
01:09 – Lee on discovering her love of dancing
02:50 – How “The Small House of Uncle Thomas” was transformed for “The King and I”
05:10 – How Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein’s help Lee land her role in “Flower Drum Song”
08:34 – The impact of three shows on Broadway in the late 1950s starring Asian people
09:42 – How Richard Rodgers gets into the “soul of the dancer”
11:04 – Great choreographers allow the audience to live and breathe with them
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