Honk! – Family Friendly Musical Production
| July 3, 2012 | Posted by Staff Reviewer under Staff Reviews |
Manoa Valley Theatre is currently presenting Honk!, a charming musical adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale, The Ugly Duckling. It was a delight to attend a well-done play that entertains children and adults. Even though the original play was penned in 1843, there is an important message about bullying that is very much in the news today.
As the play opens, Ida, the long-suffering mother duck, is not so patiently awaiting for her eggs to hatch. Suzanne Green was magnificent as Ida. Always an outstanding actress, her face clearly showed the range of emotions of her character. She was often exasperated with her under-achieving husband, Drake, played by Miguel Pa‘ekukui. She was proud of her four ducklings. As like most mothers, she was very defensive when the residents of the duck yard called her baby ugly.
Gerald Mandac, Ugly, the title character, was perfectly cast. When first hatched and with his first exposure to water, he displayed a wide-eyed innocence. This quickly changed when he was being bullied and called Ugly by his siblings and the other duckyard characters. The audience could see the hurt on his face and in his actions.
David Kila, Maria Denzer, Kaiki Delos Santos, and Tani Siu were adorable as the ducklings. They charmed the audience. One of the most notable characters was the Cat, portrayed by Gabriel Wright. The conniving cat hungry for an Ugly-stew, was easily distracted by the wiles of a seductive female cat, played by Camila Harris. This was Wright’s first performance with MVT; hopefully it will not be his last.
One of the highlights of the second act was the song “Warts And All.” Larry Bialock as the bullfrog brought a comic relief to the serious subject of being different.
Bravo to director, Karen Meyer, for an outstanding job in bringing Honk! to life. Kudos to M. J. Matsushita for a beautiful set and to the remaining behind-the-scenes production staff for a job well done. The band under the direction of Kala‘i Stern was outstanding. The “country” costumes worn by the band members were a nice touch.
The play is a bit long, but held the interest of the children and adults in the audience.
Honk! runs until July 15. There is room for an extension to the run and, most likely, this wonderful play will be extended.
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