Local actress takes lead in 'Honk!'

  • Published
  • By Christine June
  • U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany --  It's six down, and eight more mother duck costume changes still to go for Stacy Smith, who teaches speech pathology at Bitburg Middle School. 

Mrs. Smith is the lead actress, portraying tearful mother duck, "Ida," in Kaiserslautern's latest production "Honk!" This is a musical retelling of 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 at Kaiserslautern Military Community Onstage, Building 3232 on Kleber Kaserne in Kaiserslautern. 

"I think it's a wonderful family show," said 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." 

This message, Mrs. Smith said, is that everyone is beautiful in their own way, and it's OK to be different. 

"Parents can enjoy it as much as children, and it's hard to fi nd things to do in Europe that is for the whole family," 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. The first show was in Colorado Springs, Colo., before he joined the Air Force and before she married a Soldier -- Maj. Rob Smith with the 47th Forward Support Battalion in Baumholder. Their last collaboration before "Honk!" was "Conversations on Russian Literature," which earned Mrs. Smith a best actress award in the 2007 Army Europe Festival of One Act Plays. This "dramedy," directed by Airman Bates, also captured the big prize by being named the best play at the annual event.
 
"Each time she surprises me," Airman Bates said. "I love doing plays with her because each time it's something new and something even better." 

"Honk!" 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, a sly tomcat who just wants to play with his food, a 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. There will be a 15 minute intermission. Memorable songs include "A Poultry Tale," "Warts and All," "Look at Him," "Play With Your Food," "Now I've Seen You" and "Different." 

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. 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 because of 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.