Ugly Duckling Soars in ‘Honk!’

“Honk!” gives the Hans Christian Andersen tale of “The Ugly Duckling” an English music hall treatment. Its most ruthlessly appealing scene features a horde of children dressed as frogs, singing about love and acceptance. I haven’t heard so much awwwww-ing since Sandy the dog ran onstage at the end of “Annie.”

It’s not a frog show in the main; it’s a bird show. Last year “Honk!” won the Olivier Award for best musical over “Mamma Mia!” and “The Lion King.” (It’s a funny old world.) Now it’s everywhere. The area premiere of “Honk!” comes courtesy of the Music Theatre of Southern California; after this San Gabriel Civic Auditorium run, it plays a weekend at the Alex Theatre in Glendale. A separate version opens next month at the International City Theatre in Long Beach.

The show’s creators strive to appeal to the mythological demographic known as “kids of all ages.” In “Honk!” mother Ida (Barbara Hinrichsen) gives birth to four ducklings of Beatrix Potter cuteness, and one latecomer.

He’s “different,” and goes by the name Ugly (Lance Roberts, dressed in bow tie and schoolboy cap).

The original Danish tale was a typical Andersen wallow in humiliation, masochism, misery and additional humiliation. The ugly duckling endures various near-death hardships to achieve his happy ending (i.e. a better, swan-like look) and the respect of his former tormentors.

Librettist and lyricist Anthony Drewe fills his version with provincial working-class English housewives and, in terms of conflict, a villainous cat (John LaLonde, made up like Salvador Dali) of troubling motives. Composer George Stiles changes styles early and often, a rumba here, some ‘70s lite pop there. The titles tend toward the inspirational: “Hold Your Head Up High” and “It Takes All Sorts.”

“Honk!” doesn’t really take off until midway through Act 2. When Ugly meets his future mate, Penny (Jackie Cox, sympathetic and easygoing), the show finally lays off the relentless puns for a moment or two of genuine fowl interaction.

From there, it’s a quick hop to LaQuin Groves as Mr. Bullfrog, backed by a stageful of lil’ froglets, very cute even if you don’t happen to be related to any of them.

Director Bill Shaw has a fine lead in Roberts, who commits heart and soul (plus, just the right honking sound) to the role of Ugly. The casting of an African American performer carries an inescapable racial jolt. (The London premiere did likewise, as did previous incarnations.) Effective? Yes. Heavy-handed? Yes, that too, but talent is talent and Roberts has plenty.

It’s too bad director Shaw didn’t make a few more conceptual and design decisions. “Honk!” is a defiantly British show in its stereotypes and cadences, yet this production is thuddingly American in most of its dialects. Mistake.

Another one: The sets, on loan from the Music Theatre of Wichita, suggest first-draft sketches someone mistakenly took to the scene shop.

But the performances are generally solid. And Roberts is excellent, soaring high over the material’s limitations.

*

“Honk,!” San Gabriel Civic Auditorium, 320 S. Mission Drive, San Gabriel. Thursdays-Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 2 and 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. Ends Oct. 21. $22-$42. (626) 308-2868. The show moves to the Alex Theatre, 215 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale, Oct. 26, 8 p.m.; Oct. 27, 2 and 8 p.m.; Oct. 28, 2 and 7 p.m. Ends Oct. 28. $22-$42. (800) 233-3123. Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes.

Lance Roberts: Ugly

Barbara Hinrichsen: Ida

John LaLonde: Cat

Anthony Cummings: Drake/Graylag

LaQuin Groves: Turkey/Bullfrog

Lisa Robinson: Maureen/Lowbutt

Danette Holland: Grace/Dot

Charlotte Carpenter: Henrietta

Melissa Driscol: Queenie

Jackie Cox: Penny

Music by George Stiles. Book and lyrics by Anthony Drewe. Directed by Bill Shaw. Choreography and musical staging by Rikki Lugo. Musical director Richard Allen. Scenic design by J. Branson. Costumes by George T. Mitchell. Properties by Heather Garrett. Lighting by Raun Yankovich. Sound by Adam Fillius. Wigs and hair by Debbie Wilson. Production stage manager Rick Kleber.