The production's designs attempted to imitate traditional Chinese theatre, ironically with sumo wrestlers (one the son of Man Mountain Dean) grappling onstage prescription drugs during intermission to entertain the audience. Director Albert Marre cast Yiddish theatre stars Menasha Skulnik and Molly Picon as Chu Chem and Rose, Marcia Rodd as Lotte, and James Shigeta as Prince Eagle. Choreographer Jack Cole also took on the role of Mongol Lord Hoo Hah.

During rehearsals Picon, upset that her role had been reduced, walked out, but eventually returned. The November 1966 tryout at the New Locust levitra Theatre in Philadelphia was plagued by constant revisions to the script and score, and an unhappy Picon quit permanently. At one point on opening night, her successor Henrietta Jacobson turned to the audience and announced, "There was a song here, but you'll be better off without it." The reviews were brutal, with one critic describing it "like blintzes and soy sauce" and suggesting "a better title might be The King and Oy.xenical " Co-producers Leigh and Cheryl Crawford immediately cancelled the scheduled Broadway opening at the George Abbott Theatre.

Unwilling to leave well enough alone, Allen and Leigh decided to revive the show twenty-two years later at the Jewish Repertory Theatre in Manhattan. The greatly revamped version eliminated the play-within-a-play concept and the role of Rose, placed greater emphasis on the romance between Lotte and the prince, and revised the score. Encouraged by a favorable review from the third-string New York Times critic, the creative team decided to move it uptown.