Now based at Centreville High, Alliance Theatre is holding auditions for its summertime production of "Honk," a musical version of "The Ugly Duckling."
"Everybody who does this show falls in love with it, it's just so much fun," said director Elaine Wilson. "It's more well-known in England than here, but is becoming more popular here now."
With music by George Stiles and lyrics/book by Anthony Drewe, in 2000 it won the Olivier Award for Best Musical — the British equivalent of the U.S. Tony Award.
Alliance will be performing it in early August, but auditions will be next week. They'll be held Thursday-Friday, April 21-22, at Centreville High, from 6:30-9:30 p.m. Adults and high-school students are April 21, younger children are April 22 and performing families may come either night.
Hopefuls will need to perform a one-minute vocal number, preferably from a musical. And bring clothes for movement because a dance routine will be taught. An accompaniest, piano, tape/CD player will be available.
"Honk" will be produced under the auspices of Alliance's Summer Stars program for both children and adults. Students receive acting, dance and vocal instruction, and Summer Stars' past shows — the musicals "Oliver" and "The Music Man" — were both huge successes.
Summer Stars tuition for ages 7 through juniors in high school is $275 for the first student and $225 for siblings. High-school seniors and adults do not pay tuition.
Those interested in signing up for Summer Stars should e-mail Wilson at Ewilson16@cox.net, and they'll receive enrollment forms. Anyone wishing to audition for "Honk" without enrolling will still need to contact Wilson to know if space is still available.
Call backs will be Thursday, April 28; time and place will be announced later. The actual show will be presented, Aug. 4-7, and is sponsored by the Centreville High Drama Boosters. Cast rehearsals begin Saturday, June 25, at Centreville. Jan Lunsford is music director and Jennifer Koonce, choreographer.
Some paid positions for student counselors — recent or fairly recent high-school grads — to help direct the younger actors and work with them on their acting skills. Two technical-theater positions are also open, and high-school students are welcome to apply; e-mail Wilson. And she hopes that some of the Centreville Drama Boosters will also be interested in working onstage or backstage.
"The show has very sophisticated music," said Wilson. "It's just infectious. You listen to it and you're just captivated. And there's more to it than just a little fairy tale. There are messages about tolerance and being different."
The characters dress as regular people with animal characteristics. For example, said Wilson, "There's a bunch of frogs in the show, and there's a number called 'Warts and All' — meaning someone's going to love you, no matter what you look like. So the people singing this song might, for instance, wear green hard hats to signify frogs."
There are also flying geese in the show, and they'll come on stage reminiscent of WWI flying aces migrating. And they'll talk in flight and military terms.
Similarly, some actors will portray ducks with human characteristics. When the mother duck goes in search of her duckling, Ugly, who's disappeared, the father duck babysits the younger ducklings and sings a song complaining about all the work involved in motherhood.
"The adult parts in the show can be played either by older high-school kids or adults," said Wilson. "I'd like to have 50 children and 20-30 adults. There are a lot of really nice choral parts in here, and we really want the adults to carry them because they're not easy. I also have CDs of the music, if anyone's interested."
"Honk" is the story of a mother duck, Ida, and her duckling named Ugly. "He's really weird, nerdy and strange-looking," said Wilson. "He doesn't look like anybody else, but he's an incredible swimmer. All the other ducklings, village inhabitants and farm animals make fun of him. But his mother tells him it doesn't matter — he'll have his own abilities."
The sneaky cat leads him astray and tries to eat him, but Ugly escapes and runs away. He gets lost, and both the cat and his mother search for him. While Ugly tries to find his way home, he has adventures with the other characters he meets.
He falls in love with a beautiful swan and, eventually, turns into a swan, himself. He returns to his village and his family. Now, everyone thinks he's special, said Wilson, "but it's his journey that's so much fun."
Alliance especially needs choral singers and people to play the lead characters. "Most of the people in the show will play multiple characters," said Wilson. "And there's dancing, too, so if people want to dance only, they can do that." Below are some of the role requirements:
The lead role of the Ugly Ducking should be male and a tenor and could be an adult or a high-school student who looks older. The cat, who's the bad guy — and really sneaky — should also be male.
The major lead of the mother duck, should be a female who's a strong singer and a good actress. It's usually played by an adult, but could be portrayed by a student who looks older. And the commander of the goose patrol and his wife — both military types — should be adults who can sing well.
A domestic cat and a domestic hen are both female parts, suitable for adults or older high-school students. Added Wilson: "The cat should have some dancing ability, and both should be able to sing."
The mother and father swan and the father duck, Drake, should all be adults, but the swans don't have to sing. Also needed are 10 children who'll sing, act and dance and portray ducklings who act like children.
Then there are the "funky chickens" — five to 10 children who'll play roles similar to the ducklings, except they'll be baby chicks. And the flying geese and baby swans should be children with some singing and dancing talent.
Needed, as well, is a group of adults or children who play various characters that the mother duck encounters while searching for her lost, baby duckling. Said Wilson: "They have some beautiful choral music to sing."
In addition, friends of the mother duck may be played by older children and adults, and 10-15 dancers — kids or adults — are also sought. "They'll do an 'underwater' ballet that's very creative," said Wilson. "They also become a snowstorm, and they're the lead dancers in all the big production numbers."