Honk! For The Delightful Musical Version Of The Ugly Duckling

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — Waddle on over to Camden County College’s Dennis Flyer Theatre for the inspirational Honk! Jr. This snappy, witty musical retells Hans Christian Andersen’s classic tale of The Ugly Duckling. The entire family will enjoy this production presented by Mainstage Center for the Arts Musical Theatre Company, May 5th, 7 pm and 6th. 2 pm.

Honk! Jr. begins as mother duck, Ida (Ava DiBabbo of Sewell) watches over her nest of four normal eggs and one unusually large, brown egg. One-by-one they hatch into cute little ducklings. The large egg remains. Father Duck, Drake (Chase Catling of Blackwood) wonders it’s really a turkey. Finally, the big egg hatches. Out comes Ugly (Riley Cassidy of Mantua), with strange coloring and a loud “Honk!” instead of a quack.

Rejected by everyone on the farm except her mother, Ugly is easily led away by a dangerous cat (Olivia Foreman of Pine Hill). But with the help of a gaggle of helpful animals like the Bullfrog (Megan Moyers of Stratford), the froglets, a handsome swan, geese, birds, butterflies, and lady bugs, Ugly discovers her true beauty and glorious destiny. The animals include: Greylag/Mother Swan (Kollisa Pimentel of Runnemede), Maureen/Snowy (Chenoa Yelle of Elmer), Dot/Downy (Madison Jones of Sicklerville), Henrietta/Pinkfoot (Riley Kruc of Blackwood), Penny (Casey Hartigan of Woodbury) , Grace (Erica Smith of Sewell), Jay Bird (Victoria White of Runnemede), Beaky (Hailee Imperatore of Gloucester Township), and Fluff (Isabella Perry of Sicklerville).

“I was so excited when I learned I would play Ugly,” said Cassidy. “It’s such a fun role in a show with great music and dancing. The directors and the whole cast, which is my musical theatre class, are so nice and so much fun to work with. Thursdays are my favorite day of the week because that’s when we meet.”

Honk! Jr.’s teaches messages of tolerance and acceptance through upbeat musical numbers like, “Warts and All,” “Poultry Tales,” and “Wild Goose Chase.”

"My character, Drake, starts off unaccepting of Ugly. But then he turns around. Honk teaches people that just because you’re different on the outside, it doesn’t mean you’re different on the inside,” said Catling.

Of playing the villainous role of the cat, Foreman says, “I really like playing the villain. It’s different for more and I like exploring this character. The show has a great message that even when society expects you to act a certain way, it’s better to just be yourself. Another great part of the show is the directors who put in so much work to make the show so good.”

Honk, Jr. is directed by Lindsay Deal of Blackwood with music direction by Lexi Schreiber of Philadelphia.

“This is a production with many scenes and challenging musical numbers. Most of the cast are juggling multiple roles, said Deal. “We practice once per week in Musical Theatre class learning a scene or song and we pull it all together weeks later when we run that section. This is incredibly difficult for a lot of adult actors, but these kids are working hard and handling it like true pros. "

Honk! Jr. runs May 5, 7 p.m. and May 6, 2 pm, in the newly-renovated, fully accessible Dennis Flyer Theatre, Lincoln Hall, Camden County College, Blackwood. All seats are general admission, $10. For tickets, please visit www.mainstage.org or purchase at the door. For more information, please call 856-302-6485.

About Mainstage

Mainstage Center for the Arts, located at Camden County College in Blackwood, NJ is committed to make the arts experience enjoyable for all its patrons. In an effort to make the shows, concerts, events, workshops, classes, and offices accessible to as many as possible, Mainstage offers many services for patrons requiring assistance. For anyone in need of assistance, please notify the office at (856) 302-6485 at the time of purchasing tickets, or at least five days prior to the event you are attending.

Mainstage Center for the Arts, the parent program for Summer Stage, is a 501 © (3) non-profit organization committed to providing a creative, vibrant, and nurturing environment for youth and adults. This program is made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts and by funds from the National Endowment for the Arts. This program is also made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey Cultural Trust.