<P> Brynner turned in an outstanding performance that night, nearly stealing the show . Lawrence knew that the company was nervous because of her illnesses . The director, John van Druten, described how her opening night performance put all worries to rest: "She came on the stage with a new and dazzling quality, as if an extra power had been granted to the brilliance of her stage light . She was radiant and wonderful ." The rave reviews in the newspapers lifted Lawrence's spirits, and she expected a lengthy run as Anna, first on Broadway, then in London's West End, and finally on film . Lawrence won a Tony Award for her leading role, while Brynner won the award for best featured actor . The show won the Tony for best musical, and designers Mielziner and Sharaff received awards in their categories . </P> <P> De Lappe remembered the contrast between Lawrence's indifferent singing voice and the force of her performance: </P> <P> I used to listen to Gertrude Lawrence on the public address system every night in our dressing rooms, and she'd get onto a note and sag down off of it . The night after I left the show to go into Paint Your Wagon, Yul Brynner gave me house seats and I saw her from the front and I was so taken by her . She had such a star quality, you didn't care if she sang off - key . She more than dominated the stage . Boy, was that a lesson to me . </P> <P> Lawrence had not yet discovered that she was dying from liver cancer, and her weakened condition was exacerbated by the demands of her role . At the age of 52, she was required to wear dresses weighing 75 pounds (34 kg) while walking or dancing a total of 4 miles (6.4 km) during a 31⁄2 hour performance eight times a week . Lawrence found it hard to bear the heat in the theatre during the summer months . Understudy Constance Carpenter began replacing her in matinee performances . Later in the year Lawrence's strength returned, and she resumed her full schedule, but by Christmas she was battling pleurisy and suffering from exhaustion . She entered the hospital for a full week of tests . Just nine months before her death, the cancer still was not detected . In February 1952, bronchitis felled her for another week, and her husband Richard Aldrich asked Rodgers and Hammerstein if they would consider closing the show for Easter week to give her a chance to recover fully . They denied his request, but agreed to replace her with the original Ado Annie from Oklahoma!, Celeste Holm, for six weeks during the summer . Meanwhile, Lawrence's performances were deteriorating, prompting audiences to become audibly restive . Rodgers and Hammerstein prepared a letter, never delivered, advising her that "eight times a week you are losing the respect of 1,500 people". In late August, Lawrence fainted following a matinee and was admitted to the NewYork--Presbyterian Hospital . She slipped into a coma and died on September 6, 1952, aged 54 . Her autopsy revealed liver cancer . On the day of her funeral, the performance of The King and I was cancelled . The lights of Broadway and the West End were dimmed; she was buried in the ball gown she wore during Act 2 . </P>

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