St. John's Presents 'Honk!'

It’s a tale of adventure, acceptance and … ducks.

Weekday nights, 30 children who range from first to eighth grade meet up in the auditorium of Roslyn’s St. John of the Cross Church to flap their wings and rehearse their parts in “Honk! Jr.,” a shortened version of the Broadway musical, “Honk!,” about the ugly duckling.

This “poultry tale,” as the musical describes itself in the opening number, follows the story of Ugly, a duckling who, feeling unaccepted, runs away from his farm and meets many different animals while on his journey of self-discovery.

This is the seventh “Broadway Junior” production that has been put on during St. John’s Summer Theater program, led by director Judy Lounsberry. She said she thinks the show is a great activity for kids who might not be interested in playing sports. The shows are entirely paid for through fundraisers and some donations … and all of the directors are volunteers.

For 14-year-old Aubrey Haggerty, performing in her fifth show at the church, this performance is different from any musical they’ve put on before.

“’Honk’ is a lot different from any other play because we do animals,” Haggerty said, adding that it was harder because “you have to get the adults interested in it.”  

Many of the children have done several shows with the church, and for Lounsberry and musical director Donna Kummerling, the best part was seeing the actors grow from young kids into older ones with lead roles.

“We’re like proud mamas,” Kummerling said, describing the moment the kids take their final bows on the night of the show. “You watch them and say, ‘This is what the last four months were for.’”

The show will run Aug. 2-4 at 8 p.m. in the auditorium of St. John of the Cross Church.