Honk!
Honk!
It's Not Just For Kids
Plays October 22 through October 31
Back by popular demand is the wonderful new musical that retells Hans Christian
Andersen's Ugly Duckling story. Honk! delighted our audiences last year
and makes a return engagement for two weekends, October 22 through 31. While
this may sound like just a children's musical, it is really for all ages.
With music by George Stiles and book and lyrics by Anthony Drewe,
Honk! won the prestigious Olivier Award in London in 2000 for best musical.
It is filled with enough wit, humor and charm to delight both adults and children.
Poor Ugly is born drab and dull gray into a barnyard filled with
his bright-yellow siblings and an assortment of ducks, geese, turkeys and chickens.
He can only honk while the others quack. Ugly goes through a year of adventures,
being pursued by a hungry cat, meeting a very upbeat frog (singing "Warts
and All"), and getting rescued by geese (singing "Wild Goose Chase").
All of the Honk! actors are playing animals, but in very
human clothes. For example, the frog is dressed in sparkly green hat and frock
coat, the geese are in RAF military outfits, and the ducklings wear bright-yellow
overalls and yellow-billed baseball caps.
In Andersen's story, the barnyard animals, including the Ugly
Duckling's parents, reject him because he looks so different. Author Drewe has
enlisted the audience's sympathy by making Ugly's mother Ida fiercely loyal
to her strange-looking son. When he leaves the barnyard and gets lost, she goes
on a quest to find him, singing the poignant "Every Tear a Mother Cries."
Of course all ends happily, and everyone on the farm learns the
lesson that it's what is inside that counts. Are we giving away the ending to
say Ugly grows up to be a swan?
Honk! wowed audiences when it opened in 2000, and it has
become one of the world's most produced musicals in the years following. Just
a few of the raves from the critics include:
"Honk! is the most endearing family musical to come
down the pike in a long time." -- Boston Herald
"English writers hatch a hit ... the zany fun captivates,
leaving the audience quacking up." - Eagle Tribune
"This exuberant smash hit will delight parents every bit
as much as their children.... This show encourages children to use their imagination,
and to recognize that its real subject isn't farmyard creatures but their own
lives and behavior." - London Daily Telegraph
Honk! opens October 22 and runs two weekends through October
31. Call the box office at 633-4218 to order tickets or for further information.
Either bring your favorite children, or come alone. No one will want to miss
this wonderful new musical, cheery, chirpy and full of fowl jokes.
.
From the Director - Doug Instenes
A Quacking Good Time!
We are thrilled to present Honk! for the second year at the RTG. Everyone
who saw this award-winning musical last year raved about its wit and imagination.
It entertains both children and adults with its upbeat music and message of
accepting others even though they look different.
We are presenting Honk! as an Outreach show, performed at daytime shows
to grade school children from all around the area, but it has plenty of puns
and clever lyrics that will be caught by adults. The costuming will be an eye-catching
delight, with ways of using human clothes to suggest bird and animal characters.
If you missed Honk! last year, you'll want to catch it this time around.
The songs are original, cheerful, funny and poignant. They are a springboard
for choreography that goes from tap dancing to ballet to jazz. Both choreographer
Kara Ernst and the actors worked hard to get bird, fish and animal motions worked
into the dance and acting.
The Racine Theatre Guild is thrilled at the successful start of its 67th season.
Have you noticed our new marquis-style sign to remind people of shows and dates?
We've had raves about the newly decorated and furnished lobby and auditorium.
If you haven't had a chance to sit back in our new, plusher, wider seats, come
to Honk! and enjoy!
You can still buy flex passes for yourself or for gifts. We're hearing lots
of buzz about people wanting to see the upcoming shows of this season, especially
It's a Wonderful Life (right before Christmas) and The Music Man
coming next spring.
Please call soon for tickets for Honk! It will charm people of all ages
with its classic story, creative costuming, upbeat music and universal message.
.
Honk!
by Pat Cook
CAST
Crows.......................................Jackson Barrow, Eric Welch, Katie
Wright
Grace........................................Heather Bumstead
Ida.............................................Beth Johnstone Bush
Cat............................................Jamie Cain
Petula Peacock.........................Rachael Caskey
Frogs/Fish/Geese......................Aja Goes, Matt Harris, Savka Lazarevic,
Mark Osmundsen
Frogs/Geese.............................Brianna Smallwood, Alex Quella
Swan/Maxine...........................Mud Hen Ellie Hammond
Marge Mud Hen......................Pam Hudson
Penny......................................Sarah Hudson
Maureen..................................Jamie Johnson
Henrietta/Robin Rivers..............Katie Kowbel
Dot/Homer...............................Mary Kveton
Bull Frog..................................Catheryn Leighton
Candy Quail.............................Paula Martin
Greylag/Rooster/Swan..............Jack Pardee
Hedwig....................................Kate Pirtle
Turkey.....................................Mike Pirtle
Ducklings.................................Spencer Ricks, Sydney Rovik, Steven
Wright, Siedah Mickens, Julie Moore, Erin Martin
Drake......................................Brian Schalk
Ugly........................................Matt Specht
CREW
Director...................................Douglas Instenes
Choreographer........................Kara Ernst
Music Director........................Greg Berg
Scenic Design.........................Keith Harris
Technical Director...................Kurt Oian
PSM.......................................Betsy Kippers, Pam Hudson
Makeup..................................Kate Potter Barrow
SM.........................................Marge Henze
ASM......................................Rose Bliss
Light Technicians....................Amy Pirtle, Richard Cycenas
Flyers.....................................Phil Paulsen, Eric Guttenberg
Props.....................................Heather Bumstead