|
Newspaper Articles 
Theater Review: 'Honk!' a pun-dropping hoot 
Star Tribune
Published: August 24, 2003
By Rohan Preston
Let a ton of fowl puns drop.
"Honk! The Ugly Duckling Musical" is here, and there's not a stone that it does not turn in its gizzard to grind out a laugh.
The well-dressed musical, which quacked to life Friday in Andrew Lieberman's vividly colored storybook set, has a lot cooing for it: Reed Sigmund's leaden-footed walking across the Children's Theatre stage in the title role; one-named actor Andravy's feline relish as he portrays the Cat that wishes to make Ugly into a kitty snack; and most especially, the through-the-floor arrival of Joshua Iley's hammy, wide-eyed Bullfrog, an amphibian channeling of Rodney Dangerfield in the production's hilarious show-stopper.
These performances, plus the swan family (Marvette Knight, Gerald Drake and Autumn Ness) that waltzes to chimes where ordinary walking would do, make "Honk!" a hoot (wrong bird but you get the idea). The young companions who saw the opening show Friday did not want to leave the theater after the performers took their bows.
It's easy to see why. David Schweizer's bright, fun and funny Children's Theatre production appeals to both adults and kids. It's stuffed (apologies to the show's Turkey) with visual and aural treats, although only one song is memorable -- Bullfrog's singing of "Out there, there's someone who loves you, warts and all."
Matt Jenson's choreography adds to the telling.
Still, this broadly painted musical feels like, well, an over-stuffed bird. Not the production so much as the material. There's not a wet feather or brown bill that the British musical theater team of composer George Stiles and book writer Anthony Drewe does not reach for to tickle us. They make quackery out of everything, including a scene that shows three characters, in different locales, singing from the same page. (This stage technique is overused in contemporary musicals from "Les Miserables" to "Martin Guerre.")
The story, adapted from Hans Christian Andersen's classic, is familiar to us. An odd duck has hatched into a family. He is scorned and 'buked, lied upon and made fun of. Cat, a predator, lures him away and Ugly doesn't understand what the cat means when he invites him for a snack.
Meanwhile, mother duck, Ida (Teri Parker-Brown of Chanhassen renown), frets over the one lost odd hatchling. She goes on a search for Ugly, abandoning her brood to father duck, Drake (John-Michael Zuerlein), who would rather be down at the swamp beating his beak with his pals.
The Brits, have added many contemporary sociological twists to the story. Sassy Ida is quite independent, and who can blame her, because Drake is so keen to duck his parental responsibilities (sorry).
The Children's Theatre production has one questionable costuming element: Cat, so evocatively performed by Andravy, sports dreadlocks that make him look like '80s funkster Rick James. Perhaps not the best choice for a young audience.
"Honk!" reminds us of another avian fable: of the eagle that thinks it's a chicken. It's an entertaining musical that reinforces a good message about appearance and differences.
More about HONK! THE UGLY DUCKLING MUSICAL»
Excerpted from Star Tribune. Copyright 2003, all rights reserved.
Back to News & Reviews
| 
