Review

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The setting is a small farmyard.  As we get to know the various animals who live on the farm by Drake in A Poultry Tale there is much anticipation to the eggs that his mate Ida is hatching.  No one is more interested than the cunning Cat who thinks that the hatchlings will make a wonderful dinner.  Before long four ducklings come tap dancing out of their shells all cute and perfect.  The final egg bursts open with an odd-looking babe who utters a loud Honk! Named Ugly for being different, this misfit is the Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen that has become musicalized by Andrew Drewe and George Stiles.  OCHSA performed this delightful family musical in their black box theatre, creating an entertaining production.

Director and choreographer Charna Felthous keeps the show moving fast with maximum use of the extremely small space.  At the center of this animal circus is an electric Kima Christian as Ugly who is both earnest and amusing in his struggle to become his inner swan.  Victor Ferguson and Sierra Adair are strong as the parents, Ida and Drake.  Christian Oyen, Maddie Duyan, Maddy Biggs and Marley Oyen deserve special credit for not only playing the ducklings but also the froglets, and other animals.  Dominic De Los Santos is a slippery, conniving Cat who is comically thwarted on his continual quest for the perfect dinner, the large Ugly.  The vast supporting cast is a colorful assortment of liveliness with standouts such as Alex Ziegler as Maureen, Henry Rhinehart as Greylag, Hannah Mc Mullen as Dot and Peter Viviani as Turkey. The comic duo of Alex Hazzard as Lowbutt and Hannah Reams as Queenie score a highlight with It Takes All Sorts.  The showstopper of the whole production is Katie Takorian as Bullfrog whose Warts and All production number raises the roof.  

OCHSA production of HONK! featured students from the Integrated Arts Conservatory who were given their chance to shine in this pleasant production.  After escaping the Cat, Ugly is left on a journey to return to his mother.  Along the way he meets Penny, a swan who knows that he won’t be Ugly forever.  In the joyous finale, Look At Him, Ugly transforms into the handsome swan destined to live happily ever after. 

Performed May 6-8, 2010 

Robert Rotenberry
National Youth Theatre

~ Cast ~

Alex Hazzard - Lowbutt
Alex Ziegler - Maureen
Amanda Moore – Ensemble, Froglet
Augustina Rios – Henrietta, Ensemble, Squad Member
Christian Oyen – Billy, Froglet, Barnacles
Courtney Cochran – Penny, Ensemble
Dominic De Los Santos - Cat
Hannah Mc Mullen – Dot
Hannah Reams - Queenie
Henry Rhinehart - Greylag
Juliet Larson – Soloist #2, Ensemble, Squad Member
Katie Takorian - BullFrog
Katya Weessies – Snowy, Ensemble
Kima Christian - Ugly
Krystal Smith – Pinkfoot, Ensemble
Louise Bearzi-Guedes - Grace
Maddie Duyan – Beaky, Froglet
Maddy Biggs – Fluffy, Froglet
Marley Oyen – Downy, Froglet
Milan Swart – Ensemble, Froglet, Squad Member
Peter Viviani – Turkey
Rose Mackenzie – Soloist, Mother Swan
Samantha Biggs – Rooster
Sierra Adair - Ida
Victor Ferguson – Drake

 

   

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