‘Honk!’ back for several shows in January

***image1***It’s six down and eight more “mother duck” costume changes to go for Stacy Smith, who teaches speech pathology at the Bitburg Middle School.

She is the lead actress, portraying tearful mother duck, “Ida,” in Kaiserslautern’s production “Honk!” This musical retells the Hans Christian Andersen story “The Ugly Duckling.”

Describing her character, Mrs. Smith said, “She is a wonderful mom, and she loves her babies, and even though, ‘Ugly’ is different, she sticks up for him and loves him from the very beginning when no one else does.”

After a three-week holiday hiatus, “Honk!” continues its run today at KMC Onstage, Bldg. 3232 on Kleber Kaserne in Kaiserslautern.

“I think it’s a wonderful family show,” said Mrs. Smith, who drives more than an hour each way from Spangdahlem to Kaiserslautern for performances. “It has a great message for everyone and is a lot of fun.”

Parents will enjoy the show as much as children, said Senior Airman Josh Bates, from the 435th Civil Engineer Squadron, who portrays “Ugly’s” father “Drake,” who “ducks” his responsibilities.

“Honk!” marks the fifth show that Mrs. Smith and Airman Bates have been in together.

“Each time she surprises me,” said Airman Bates.  “I love doing plays with her because each time it’s something new and something even better.”

The story centers on an ugly ducking who discovers his inner beauty by becoming a swan. Besides “Ida,” “Ugly” and “Drake,” there’s a barnyard of loveable characters including a gaggle of comical geese, sly tomcat who just wants to play with his food, wisecracking bullfrog, who along with his froglets have wise advice for “Ugly,” cackling chickens, and other such barnyard creatures. There are also plenty of “fowl” puns.

“Honk!” is a two-act show with a running time of about two hours and a 15-minute intermission.

A new family price is now available. The cost now for a family of three or more is $30. This price will be offered for all future family shows at KMC Onstage.

Cost is $14 for adults, $12 for students, 12 and older, and seniors, 60 and older, and $10 for children, 11 and younger. Performances are 7:30 p.m. today and Saturday, Jan. 18, 19, 25 and 26, and 3 p.m. Sunday and Jan. 27. Children under 5 years old are only permitted for the matinees due to the length of the show.

The matinee show at 3 p.m. Jan. 20 is only open and free to the families enrolled in the U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern’s Army Community Service Exceptional Family Member Program.

For details, call KMC Onstage at 483-6626 or 0631-411-6626.