“He is a king of any country from any storybook, in whatever costume you please. But he should be wearing his crown.”
So opens A.A. Milne’s play, “The Ugly Duckling,” and in this case, the King, Queen, and rest of the cast are from this country, from Hillsdale’s page in the storybook.
A group of friends in the A.A. Milne Society is performing Milne’s play April 23 at 7 p.m. in the Formal Lounge or outside on the quad, weather permitting.
Senior Audrey Gray, the director, who also directed “The Tempest” for last year’s Shakespeare in the Arb, said she has been talking about putting on a small play since last year, when she read through the play at an A.A. Milne event.
“They are very different,” she said. “This play is a lot more relaxed in terms of dialogue, whereas Shakespeare is quite structured with his verse and meter. It is about the experience and putting on a fun play.”
She said that the play is an enjoyable crowd pleaser that caters to a large audience –– especially to children.
“We are hoping that professors and their children will come,” Gray said. “It caters to kids with the storybook setting and humor, and adults will enjoy it just as much, if not more. Milne’s subtle humor is sometimes lost on children while adults will pick up on the hilarity if they are willing to take the time for a fairy tale.”
Junior Maran McLeod describes her character, the Queen, as “fed up with it all,” and said she has enjoyed getting into character.
“She is relatable –– especially at this point in the semester –– because she keeps on plotting even though there is not much hope,” she said.
McLeod said that reading and acting short plays like Milne’s help develop a necessary sense of leisure.
“I’d really like to raise the profile of the A.A Milne Society on campus,” she said. “Leisure is an important thing to inculcate in students. These are little stories, but they have simple truths.”
Junior Julie Finke, who plays the Ugly Duckling Princess, said that the princess is an unblemished combination of joy, kindness, love, and beauty and emphasized a deeper meaning in the play as a whole.
“The play is really talking about how there is more to you than just your beauty,” Finke said.
Finke said that the cast members were already friends, so acting really provided time to spend with one another as, in a way, a last hurrah.
“A lot of them are seniors, and we wanted to do something fun together before they all graduate,” Finke said. “They are all so great at acting, drama, and enjoying life, and we’ve done a lot of wonderful things together. This is another great thing on the list. We are simultaneously doing it to enjoy each others company and to show campus that A.A. Milne is great.”
According to Finke, the hilarity and light-heartedness of the play — as well as its brevity — make it a perfect study break.
“The script and the wording are just sheer brilliance all the way through,” she said. “It is both really fun and extremely witty, and it plays on deep life themes.”
