'Honk!' if you want to see duck tale on stage

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

A menacing cat (Kevin Yamada) is confronted by mother duck Ida (Katie Doyle) and other ducks and geese in this scene from Manoa Valley Theatre's "Honk!" Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser 'Honk!' A musical by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, based on Hans Christian Andersen's "The Ugly Duckling" Premieres at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday; repeats at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays- Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays- Saturdays, 4 p.m. Sundays through Nov. 17 Manoa Valley Theatre $30 general; $10 for age 25 and under; $5 discount for seniors, military 988-6131

Director Karen Bumatai of Manoa Valley Theatre had other ideas.

"I thought she was perfect for our show, 'Honk!,' so I tricked her," said Bumatai. "I slipped in a CD while riding in her van as she was talking, talking, talking. Finally, she asked me, 'What is that we're listening to?' "

It was the song, "Every Tear a Mother Cries," from a fantasy musical based on Hans Christian Andersen's classic "The Ugly Duckling" that premieres Wednesday at MVT.

"She was sneaky," said Doyle. "I really wanted to do Maria. But Ida (the mother duck character) is totally different and a delight. And she, too, has a flock of kids."

Er, ducklings.

Doyle has no reservations about her decision.

"But I just had to get past this duck thing," she laughed. "Ida sits on eggs."

Ida and Doyle are mums; Doyle, in her early 40s, has been married to Billy Hummel for 17 years and finally had Connor, now 3.

"I think a combination of factors were at play," said Doyle about her decision. "The music is just wonderful and the story — I've been looking for tales for a 3-year-old — is perfect, with optimism at the end. I know I'm doing the right thing."

The show, of British origin, is by George Styles and Anthony Drewe, who won the 2000 Olivier Award for best new musical. The production is filled with puns and games as it sheds light on parenthood among a flock of farmyard folks, from geese to turkeys to bull frogs to a menacing cat.

"It's bright, with primary colors, and really not just for children," said Doyle. "The fairy tale part is fun for youngsters, but there are so many comic lines their parents will enjoy."

The tale's moral about the fact that it's what's inside that counts — the yolk, not the shell — is explored through conflicts of fancy plumage vs. personalities and values.

"There are all sorts of fowl jokes, ha, ha, ha," she chuckled. "It quacked me up.

"Ida, to me, is a cross between Mary Poppins and Alice Kramden," Doyle said, referring to the flying nanny and the beleaguered spouse of Ralph Kramden in "The Honeymooners."

"I liken it to a Disney show," said Bumatai. "All the eye candy and fun is there for the kids; then there's the appealing, sophisticated wit and humor of the dialogue for the adults."

Feathers won't fly in the MVT retelling of the fable, said Doyle, because the ducks are feather-free.

"The costumes and the look rely on silhouettes; how you stand, what you wear, with the bill (of the duck) formed by a baseball cap, if you turn sideways," said Doyle.

Michael Harada, who used to be a surfboard shaper, brought vibrant realism to some of the props.

"He created this wonderful big egg from fiberglass and smaller eggs from Styrofoam," said Bumatai. "And there are a few oversized props he made — a basting brush, an egg carton, a meat tenderizer — while working with our set designer, Sandy Riford."

And there's even an underwater sequence.

Doyle said as strange as it may sound, she can identify with the duck mum Ida.

"I think she's perpetually optimistic, realistic and fiercely loyal," said Doyle. "And ducks mate for life; they don't fool around. I like that. And she likes a good joke, too. The most important thing to her, in her world, is her family. In the end, it's a no-brainer, when you think about it."

"In the beginning, I wasn't sure if Katie was going to be able to tear herself away from Connor," said Bumatai. "But I just knew, because she was a mother, that she'd be perfect for Ida. She's an amazing mom, the kind that everybody wants. Never too busy for Connor. She understood the character — it's so easy to make Ida two-dimensional — but Katie brings just the right life to her."

In the context of the play's action, Ida is irritable about sitting on her eggs for quite a long time and complains to Drake, her mate, about cramped quarters. Four eggs hatch, but a larger one is a problem. When Ugly finally arrives, he can't even quack; he honks.

"You know, they say never do a show with children or animals," said Doyle. "Not only are we doing a show with children, but we're the animals. But it's fun."

Working with a cast of adults and youngsters — the cast has the most kids in an MVT show in more than a decade — has been an added joy for Doyle.

"It's fun to see a show through the eyes of the kids," she said. "And the kids in the cast are challenging the adults, learning the lines faster than the adults."