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Kid Friendly HONK! Includes Double Entendre for Parents

Most of us know Hans Christian Anderson’s fairytale The Ugly Duckling, in which a less than attractive duck undergoes ridicule and teasing because of his looks. But, by the end of the story the duck has matured into a beautiful swan. This fairytale was adapted into a musical in the early 1990’s called HONK!.

The play was penned by the George Stiles (music) and Anthony Drewe (lyrics). Stiles and Drewe also produced the stage musicals Mary Poppins and Peter Pan.  In 2000 HONK! won the Olivier Award for Best New Musical.

Murray State University Students are putting on this musical November 22-24. Stage Director Lissa Graham Schneider says it is one of the hardest musicals she’s produced. Musical Director Randall Black says the music is, “absolutely gorgeous.” Conductor Todd Hill says the lyrics are hilarious and the composition is “really well done.” Chad Lampe’s conversation with Graham-Schneider, Black and Hill is here.

The production includes 7:30 p.m. shows Thurs-Sat and a 2:30 p.m. Sunday matinee. Ticket information is available here.

Chad Lampe, a Poplar Bluff, Missouri native, was raised on radio. He credits his father, a broadcast engineer, for his technical knowledge, and his mother for the gift of gab. At ten years old he broke all bonds of the FCC and built his own one watt pirate radio station. His childhood afternoons were spent playing music and interviewing classmates for all his friends to hear. At fourteen he began working for the local radio stations, until he graduated high school. He earned an undergraduate degree in Psychology at Murray State, and a Masters Degree in Mass Communication. In November, 2011, Chad was named Station Manager in 2016.
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