‘Honk Jr.’ will quack you up

By TEAGAN STURMER

MARQUETTE -- Fly on down to the Lake Superior Boathouse Theatre to see Superior Arts Youth Theatre's yellow cast of Honk Jr! An adorable cast of 30+ local youth performers tell the well-loved story of the Ugly Duckling, and teach us that there is beauty in being different.

Duck parents-to-be, Ida (Beatrix Zeleznik) and Drake (Lukas Barron) sit on their brood of eggs anxiously waiting for them to hatch. But one egg in particular seems to be different from the rest and when the eggs hatch the occupant, Ugly (Grant Ottaway), is teased and ridiculed. He honks when his family quacks and his little brother and sisters (Daphne Evans, Eden Jonkman, Henry Ottaway, and Nora Johnson) make fun of him and exclude him from any family activities. After finding himself separated from his family, Ugly befriends the Cat (Rachel Hay) who only has one thing on her mind. Making Ugly her lunch. Will Ugly overcome the obstacles before him and make it home safe and sound? Will he finally be accepted?

The show itself is upbeat and fun and a true joy to watch. The antics of the little ducklings will have you laughing, the voice of Rachel Hay as the Cat is truly stunning, and Zeleznik does a fantastic job with not only her heartfelt vocals, but also in capturing the essence of a mother who only wants to make sure her child is found safe and loved. Grant Ottaway shone in a sweet performance as Ugly and captured his journey from cygnet to swan very well. Chooch Leonard as the Bullfrog was another stand-out performance as well as Greta Ottaway as Maureen and Jack Johnson as Greylag.

The show is directed by Caitlin Palomaki, choreographed by Jill Vermeulen, and stage managed by Georgia Hummell: the perfect team to bring the meaningful message of this show to life! With colorful costume design by Suzanne Shahbazi and hair styling by Nicole Bullock, the show was a visual delight to watch.

The yellow cast performs this endearing show August 8-11 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. before the blue cast takes over the following week. You can go to nmu.universitytickets.com to find tickets!

EDITORS NOTE: Teagan Sturmer is a local actor, director, and author.