Ensemble Theatre of Chattanooga embraces the tale of the ugly duckling
“HONK!”, the musical about the Ugly Duckling, has been around for a quarter of a century now. This July, Ensemble Theatre of Chattanooga is staging a version that involves kids, trash, animals, dance, and, quite possibly, YOU!
At heart, the Ugly Duckling tale is a story about family, says Garry Lee Posey, founder and artistic director of ETC. This interpretation, though, widens the notion of family to include the environment.
“When we chose shows for this year…we focused on the family—different aspects of family and what families mean,” Posey says. “What drew me to ‘HONK!’ is the fact that you have an outsider of the family who happens to grow up within the family, but is a kind of a misfit. An egg that’s fallen into the wrong nest.”
But don’t expect fluffy animal costumes. Normand Caissie, director of “HONK!”, says he has completely reimagined the show. The play starts with a group of citizens volunteering to clean up a park. Then they put on the musical, reusing the trash they find as costumes. It’s a big reinterpretation for the piece, and ambitious first project for Caissie as a director with ETC.
“We want to it to be very immersive for the audience,” Caissie says. “[I ask myself] how can I do this successfully and prove myself as a director. I knew I wanted to scrap the campy storyline and bring something fresh.”
Caissie wants to encourage the audience to reuse and think about the environment, he says. But the original message about finding community is still central.
“We use the litter that’s everywhere to tell the story of acceptance, love and family,” Caissie says. “Although [humans] aren’t the only animals with family, we’re the only ones with a voice to encourage others to reuse and to care for the environment.”
Caissie, who has been acting since second grade and directing since his sophomore year in high school, says it’s a complex job to coordinate all the moving parts involved in making a musical, including a cast ranging in age from seven to the mid-40s.
“It needs passion and patience,” Caissie says of the process. “The three youngest haven’t done a big musical before. To see them light up in rehearsal is so inspiring. They’re taking initiative and ready to learn.”
As well as the cast and crew, partners including the Tennessee Aquarium and Reflection Riding Arboretum are participating in “HONK!”. Kid-friendly matinee programs will be free to audience members younger than 14.
“We will have activities before the show,” Posey says. “After the show we’ll have a meet and greet with the cast, and during intermission, we’ll have a concession of some sort. We really want to expose as many children as we can to theater. This is such as great show to do that with!”
“HONK!”
Barking Legs Theater
1307 Dodds Ave.
July 13, 14, 19, 20, 21 at 7:30 p.m.July 14, 15, 21 at 2:30 p.m.
ensembletheatreofchattanooga.com