Ok, its the King and I and I am doing it twice this year, once for a CT I work with and once at the high school where I teach.. I would really like to use a large gong on stage.  ones I have found are WAY expensive.. Any source ideas or even faking it (prop) ideas?

I did a show with a Gong recently and had the same problem. I put an add on Craigs List stating "non profit theatre needs to borrow Gong" and I got a response from a local Drum Circle. She lent me the gong and all I had to do was give her a couple of comps to the show.