Honk! goes this darling duckling of a show
August 18, 2003 | 12:00am
I hate shows that make me cry. Often, when you give yourself up to the swell of emotion, you barely have time to pull the hankie from your pocket and dry your tears. The lights come up, and you find yourself sheepishly trying to wipe your face. Of course, that hasn’t really stopped me from going to see them.
It happened to me last at Trumpets’ Honk!, an all-Filipino production of the Olivier award-winning musical based on the fairy tale of The Ugly Duckling, with music by George Stiles and book and lyrics by Anthony Drewe. When Ugly bids his mother, the gander Ida, farewell, you just know that in the scheme of nature, they will never be together again. And Ida knows it just as well. She knows that a swan’s place is not in the duck yard but in the world beyond. How can you not cry at such a thought?
But the story gives you enough time to dry your tears and not find yourself embarrassed by being moved by this well-known tale. Ugly comes back with Penny, his swan bride-to-be, to live at the duck farm, but not before kicking the Cat out of his frozen state. Of course, the whole show ends with much rejoicing when Ugly comes back home. All is forgiven, and they all live happily ever after.
Ok, I gave the ending away, but didn’t you know how The Ugly Duckling was going to end? And that is the magic of this Trumpets production: You never really know how it‘s going to end until you get to the end. You get lost in the moment, wondering how Ugly will manage in the world, and whether his duck mother Ida will ever find him again. It’s mushy I must admit, but it’s a rewarding two-hour plus show.
At the end of Honk!, there were only two things in mind. "Hold your head up high," Ida exhorts Ugly when he first hatched out of his egg, and "It takes all sorts to make a world," Ida tells him when he finally goes into the duck yard and is greeted by jeers and taunts from all the other ducks and chickens.
Hold your head up high. I can still hear Agot Isidro’s voice in my ears, giving Ugly this little piece of advice. In her first stage appearance, Isidro impresses with the stamina of a professional. For much of Act I, she is on stage, singing in long stretches most of the time. There is a youthfulness to her voice that make her believable as a young mother duck. You know how much a chore it is to sit on her eggs and waits for them to hatch. And when Ugly goes off with the Cat for lunch – and be lunch – you empathize at her horror at the duck-swan’s loss.
Then there’s Carlo Orosa as Ugly. Somehow, Orosa fits the role to a T. He may not be as pretty as his duckling siblings – just hear him utter his first honk – but your heart slowly melts for this unwanted creature. How can the duck yard not like such a lovable and loving creature?
And then there are the show’s other stars – they are not mere supports because many of them take on a couple of roles, too.
Tonipet Gaba as Cat is a scream. This is the coolest cat ever, although he may just be a little too slow to really get his claws on Ugly, which is a good thing, or else we would be home barely an hour into the show. He tangos with grace, paired with the amazing Sweet Plantado as Queenie the She-Cat, and does a perfect comic routine when he emerges half-frozen from his ice shell.
Sheila Francisco as Grace the dowager duck is regal, and when she reappears later as Lowbutt the Hen, she is even more inventive, thinking of crazy tricks to get Cat to leave her well-appointed abode.
John Mulhall as Drake the father duck makes a fine foil to Isidro’s Ida, and later he reappears as the head of the Flying Geese, equally imposing but a bit gullible.
Lana Jalosjos as the swan Penny makes a too short appearance. I would have wanted to hear more of her.
What Honk! might lack in real tunes – the only melody that sticks to mind now is that quasi-anthem "Hold your head up high" – it makes up for in invention. Who could have possibly imagined moving a duck yard to stage? Gino Gonzales transforms the Meralco Theater stage into a cozy and colorful duck yard that morphs conveniently into the Cat’s lair, a lake and Lowbutt’s house. Everything looks so inviting, as cheerful as a birthday cake. The way he makes all those eggs reappear on stage as a motif is simply wonderful.
All this would not come together without the deft handling of director Chari Arespacochaga, who originally appeared in a production of Honk! in Singapore. The story may have dragged a little at the start, but when Ugly comes out of his egg, everything moves along perfectly fine.
Trumpets has made the right decision in bringing in a foreign show this time. All its previous productions were truly OPM (original Pilipino musicals). Their decision to sidestep this little detail and bring to the local stage this production has proved to be rewarding. This is truly the duck that laid a golden egg.
Honk! will have performances at the Meralco Theater on Aug. 22-23, 29-30 and Sept. 5-6 at 8 p.m., and on Aug. 23-24, 30-31 and Sept. 6-7 at 3 p.m. For ticket inquiries, call the National Book Store Ticketworld at 891-5610 or log on to www.ticketworld.com.ph, or call Trumpets at 633-4387, 633-5010 and 636-2842.
It happened to me last at Trumpets’ Honk!, an all-Filipino production of the Olivier award-winning musical based on the fairy tale of The Ugly Duckling, with music by George Stiles and book and lyrics by Anthony Drewe. When Ugly bids his mother, the gander Ida, farewell, you just know that in the scheme of nature, they will never be together again. And Ida knows it just as well. She knows that a swan’s place is not in the duck yard but in the world beyond. How can you not cry at such a thought?
But the story gives you enough time to dry your tears and not find yourself embarrassed by being moved by this well-known tale. Ugly comes back with Penny, his swan bride-to-be, to live at the duck farm, but not before kicking the Cat out of his frozen state. Of course, the whole show ends with much rejoicing when Ugly comes back home. All is forgiven, and they all live happily ever after.
Ok, I gave the ending away, but didn’t you know how The Ugly Duckling was going to end? And that is the magic of this Trumpets production: You never really know how it‘s going to end until you get to the end. You get lost in the moment, wondering how Ugly will manage in the world, and whether his duck mother Ida will ever find him again. It’s mushy I must admit, but it’s a rewarding two-hour plus show.
At the end of Honk!, there were only two things in mind. "Hold your head up high," Ida exhorts Ugly when he first hatched out of his egg, and "It takes all sorts to make a world," Ida tells him when he finally goes into the duck yard and is greeted by jeers and taunts from all the other ducks and chickens.
Hold your head up high. I can still hear Agot Isidro’s voice in my ears, giving Ugly this little piece of advice. In her first stage appearance, Isidro impresses with the stamina of a professional. For much of Act I, she is on stage, singing in long stretches most of the time. There is a youthfulness to her voice that make her believable as a young mother duck. You know how much a chore it is to sit on her eggs and waits for them to hatch. And when Ugly goes off with the Cat for lunch – and be lunch – you empathize at her horror at the duck-swan’s loss.
Then there’s Carlo Orosa as Ugly. Somehow, Orosa fits the role to a T. He may not be as pretty as his duckling siblings – just hear him utter his first honk – but your heart slowly melts for this unwanted creature. How can the duck yard not like such a lovable and loving creature?
And then there are the show’s other stars – they are not mere supports because many of them take on a couple of roles, too.
Tonipet Gaba as Cat is a scream. This is the coolest cat ever, although he may just be a little too slow to really get his claws on Ugly, which is a good thing, or else we would be home barely an hour into the show. He tangos with grace, paired with the amazing Sweet Plantado as Queenie the She-Cat, and does a perfect comic routine when he emerges half-frozen from his ice shell.
Sheila Francisco as Grace the dowager duck is regal, and when she reappears later as Lowbutt the Hen, she is even more inventive, thinking of crazy tricks to get Cat to leave her well-appointed abode.
John Mulhall as Drake the father duck makes a fine foil to Isidro’s Ida, and later he reappears as the head of the Flying Geese, equally imposing but a bit gullible.
Lana Jalosjos as the swan Penny makes a too short appearance. I would have wanted to hear more of her.
What Honk! might lack in real tunes – the only melody that sticks to mind now is that quasi-anthem "Hold your head up high" – it makes up for in invention. Who could have possibly imagined moving a duck yard to stage? Gino Gonzales transforms the Meralco Theater stage into a cozy and colorful duck yard that morphs conveniently into the Cat’s lair, a lake and Lowbutt’s house. Everything looks so inviting, as cheerful as a birthday cake. The way he makes all those eggs reappear on stage as a motif is simply wonderful.
All this would not come together without the deft handling of director Chari Arespacochaga, who originally appeared in a production of Honk! in Singapore. The story may have dragged a little at the start, but when Ugly comes out of his egg, everything moves along perfectly fine.
Trumpets has made the right decision in bringing in a foreign show this time. All its previous productions were truly OPM (original Pilipino musicals). Their decision to sidestep this little detail and bring to the local stage this production has proved to be rewarding. This is truly the duck that laid a golden egg.
BrandSpace Articles
<
>
