Revival Theatre staging ‘Honk!’ at CSPS in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS — When an egg ends up in the wrong nest, all manner of conundrums hatch.

The awkward little guy doesn’t look like his adorable fellow nestlings, and ends up saddled with the name “Ugly.”

But this ugly duckling ends up learning and teaching life lessons designed to resonate with all ages in “Honk!” Revival Theatre Company is staging the musical at CSPS Hall in Cedar Rapids from June 2 to 11.

Revival Theatre, its designers, directors and cast of 25 actors are bringing this classic Hans Christian Andersen tale, published in 1843, into the 21st century, where humans still need to be reminded to embrace and celebrate their differences.

“This is why I like doing the things we do,” director and Revival co-founder Brian Glick said. “If people don’t really know what it is, I think they’ll be really surprised about how much it is for adults and for children. And what I love about that is, children will get something out of it completely different than adults or vice versa, and that's what creates a great conversational piece.”

It’s the story of Ugly’s life after he leaves the nest where he’s mocked not only by the ducklings, but by the various barnyard animals, too.

“The whole journey in this show is him trying to find acceptance in a world that makes fun of him from the minute he's born, physically and mentally,” Glick said.

Grim fairy tale

Like many fairy tales of the day, the original story delves into very grim themes.

“Hans Christian Andersen goes into more detail about how (Ugly) is treated. It’s much darker in the book,” Glick said.

“What's different with this is, on Ugly’s journey he took to find acceptance or those who will accept him, however you'd like to look at it, he runs into people who teach him lessons about his uniqueness, where the book does not. He runs into much more trials of strife and tribulation.

“He really struggles until in the book, he realizes that he can fly with the swans and (wonders) why are they accepting him. And then he sees his reflection and goes, ‘I’m a swan. That's why they accept me.’

“What's great about the musical ‘Honk!’ is (that) it's a great lesson and teaches acceptance. Those who also look different, who he meets along the way, teach him that,” Glick said. “And so the story is always going to be transcendent.”

  Buy Photo

The original fairy tale sprang from the way Andersen was made fun of for being too tall, having a long nose and big feet, Glick noted, adding that the author later found out he was descended from royalty, which in essence, turned him into a swan.

“In terms of the direction we're going with it, it is still a show very much for families,” Glick said. “What I think is important is that not only is it for children, it's for adults, because no matter how old we get, we still struggle with people who don't look like us.

“What this teaches us is about who you are on the inside and outside, and those are all lessons we learn from kindergarten, but it's a good reminder.”

Sophisticated updates

The look of the show will be different, too.

“When you come into our production, it's not going to have the red barn and the picket fence and the cattails. It’s gonna have a bit more sophistication in depth to the story, really pushes boundaries in terms of how we treat people and the moments where he's being made fun of, so that when there is this transformation, it is a significant moment in the story that affects not just the children, but the adults.

“So the children may see it from the basic standpoint of being different, being unique, but adults can see it hopefully with something that resonates in their adult life, as well.

“There's a lot of great productions of it that lean more toward the colorful fairy tale end of things, which I think is great,” Glick said.

But he wanted to go in a different direction, in keeping with what he called “Revival’s way of putting on a show, and making it feel as though it had a bit more sophistication to it, which it does,” he said.

“And that's the beauty of this musical. It's not this hoedown kind of musical where everyone has a good time. You will have a good time — it’s very funny, it's very smart. But the production is, I think, a brilliant telling of the musical that had been tried before.”

He was sold when he heard this award-winning 1997 version came from George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, the duo who re-imagined the music of “Mary Poppins” for the stage in 2004.

Glick describes the “Honk!” music as “beautiful” and “haunting.”

“The lyrics are so smart and funny, so it makes for a wonderful evening at the theater,” he said. " ... It's taking the material and looking at it through a lens that puts it in a different gravitas and creativity ... giving it a unique, fresh approach.”

It also takes Glick back to his children’s theater roots, challenging him to “be more playful and creative” with some of the moments, the props, the costumes and staging.

“What I talked about in the design meetings is that we can make this world whatever we want.”

They came up with a layered approach, employing multimedia projected on hard surfaces, as well as making it rain and snow, and even taking it underwater under blacklights, “where things look like they're floating in midair,” he said.

“Again, we’re leaning on the piece that the uniqueness of being different is what makes us special and what makes the world dynamic, so let's do that in this in this theatrical retelling. We really wanted to take a whole different approach to it,” he said. “In some ways it's more simplistic, and in some ways it's not. That’s to make the characters and the music really stand out.”

Glick said he has “a visceral reaction” the first time he saw actor Josh Payne, who plays Ugly, in his costume, makeup and hair, which is “exactly” the reaction he hopes to see from the audience.

“We want people to go, ‘Oh wow, that IS different.’ ”

New musical directions

Another difference is that the musical accompaniment is taped, produced by a company in London that uses a live orchestra to record the tracks, which Glick said are “wonderful.” He’s always resisted going that route, preferring to hire musicians to play Revival’s shows, but he ran across this recording, and knew it would work for this show.

In talking with his colleagues, Glick said they agreed it would not ruin the artistic experience, but actually enhance some aspects, like having the orchestral accompaniments for the actors from the beginning of rehearsals.

“I was hesitant at first, but the quality of the recording made me a believer,” he said, adding that the ability to place speakers around the room, the audience will feel immersed in the music.

Revival still is trying to adjust after the sudden death of music director and co-found Cameron Sullenberger in February, and Glick intends to return to live orchestras.

Musical director for “Honk!” is Matthew Stern, who has been directing music for theater in the Boston area for 10 years, as well as teaching musical theater at Boston Conservatory at Berklee and Boston University.

“He has over 100 musicals under his belt, and has also done the show before. So those two things stuck out,” Glick said. “I felt he had the same passion and interest and energy that Cameron had, to lead this musical. ...

“The ultimate goal is that we find over the next year, people who are a good fit, and we continue to bring them back, like we do choreographers. We have different choreographers for shows, and will be in the same situation for musical directors, at least for the foreseeable future,” Glick said. “I think that's great. It allows a variety, it allows someone to fit (and) teach music for a show that they're best suited for.

“Through that process, we’ll find a way that works best for the company and everyone involved. And it's important at the end of the day, that no matter who it is, it's someone who brings a level of quality, energy and passion to the musical end of things like Cameron did. And that would be for anyone who works on the show.”

Comments: (319) 368-8508; diana.nollen@thegazette.com