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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, November 3, 2002

STAGE REVIEW
Ugly Duckling delightful sight to see in MVT's 'Honk!'

By Joseph T. Rozmiarek
Advertiser Drama Critic

Michael Hanuna comes out of his shell as Ugly in Manoa Valley Theatre's production of "Honk."

Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

'Honk!'

4 p.m. Sundays; 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays- Thursdays; 8 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays through Nov. 17

Manoa Valley Theatre

$30

988-6131

Honk if you love singing and dancing barnyard fowl. Or a children's story done up with oodles of cuteness for an adult audience. Or two acts of syrupy earnest emotion while a young swan searches for a mother duck in the snow.

Or just honk if you've had your fill of charm and simply can't take it any more.

"Honk!" Beware of show titles that end with exclamation points.

The British musical by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, based on "The Ugly Duckling" by Hans Christian Andersen, was a big hit in London. It will be a big hit with Manoa Valley Theatre audiences as well. But then, Manoa Valley Theatre audiences are often happy just to get inside, out of the rain.

The book is a straightforward march through the traditional story. One of the new hatch of ducklings simply doesn't fit in. "He must take after your side of the family." Despite a mother's love, Ugly is treated unkindly by the other fowl and attracts the carnivorous appetite of a hungry cat. He's disoriented and lost until transformed into ... well, you remember the story.

There are opportunities in the script to be adult, satiric, maybe even hip. But the MVT cast, directed by Karen Bumatai, only taps lightly on this egg, without breaking through its shell.

As a result, Mama Duck (Katie Doyle) experiments only a little with irony before giving herself over to self-sacrifice and Papa Duck (Brian Gilhooly) only hints at being a womanizer and a wastrel.

The Ugly Duckling himself (Michael Hanuna) is a study in sustained optimism.

The villain and the comics get the best parts.

Gilhooly doubles effectively as the bumbling head of a Wild Goose Squadron with a fixation for flying in formation.

Kevin Yamada plays the Cat who schemes to take Ugly home for lunch, literally. It's a juicy part, dripping with melodrama and comic self-commentary. Yamada's best moment comes when he realizes how Ugly has been transformed. "Swanee?" he hesitates. And we all know what song he's going to break into next.

Gary Masuoka also has a successful number as stand-up comic Bullfrog, joined by the full cast for a wonderful dance number called "Warts and All."

None of the show's music is memorable, but all of it is message-oriented, uniformly good-natured and seamlessly integrated into the story line: "Hold Your Head Up High," "Every Tear a Mother Cries," "It Takes All Sorts."

The cast sings well, and musical director Darren Server gets full sound from the chorus and sprightly accompaniment from his five-piece band.

Costumer Athena Espania suggests animal features with hats and scarves without trying to be too literal, and Lloyd Riford's pond setting is done in Southwestern shades.

Pick some adjectives — the show is full of them: whimsical, coy, delightful, capricious and captivating.

There's an audience for this kind of show. And there's another one born every minute.