The Ugly Duckling: Previously at LCT
In a comfortable, cozy campsite filled with shadows and stories – yours, ours, Hans Christian Andersen’s, and more – one little (well, actually rather big) duckling is learning to navigate the waterways of life. Discovering who you truly are challenges everyone, but especially the Ugly Duckling. This world premiere written by Larry and Vivian Snipes puts the familiar story in a completely new light – with a special LCT twist!
By Vivian and Larry Snipes.
Based on the story by Hans Christian Andersen.
Best enjoyed by ages 5 and up
Length of Show: 60 minutes
School Streaming Passes:
Weekly passes available NOW through May 27, 2022
School passes run from all day Monday through Friday at 4:00pm
The Ugly Duckling is recommended for K – 5th grade
Curricular Connections – Fables and Folktales, Puppetry, Life Events, Kindness, Hans Christian Andersen
Learn More about School Streaming Book a School Streaming Pass
Family Streaming Passes:
The Ugly Duckling is one of the shows in our Holiday Streaming library! You can purchase a pass to watch it any time between December 19-31, 2021. Learn more at the link below!
Things to Understand Before You Stream On Demand
Educational Play Guide
About our Video Streaming Process
We are thrilled to offer this unique opportunity to see our 2017 production of The Ugly Duckling! The stream features video from one of our school performances of the show here at LCT.
Remember, the video link and passwords can be found in your confirmation email! During the time period your pass is valid for, you can use this link and password combo to watch the show as many times as you would like. If you do not receive your confirmation email within one hour of purchase, please check your spam filter. If you experience technical difficulties, feel free to email Kathryn at khenriques@lctonstage.org! Thank you!
About LCT’s Touring Productions
The Ugly Duckling was one of our touring productions, which means it didn’t just perform here in Lexington! Our three professional actors traveled with this and our production of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow to schools, libraries, and theatres all over the Commonwealth and beyond!
About The Ugly Duckling
We start this show by meeting three siblings – Hans, Christian, and Andrea – who use shadow puppetry to tell the story of the Ugly Duckling to their audience. The story itself follows fairly closely to the original fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. It might be fun to read a book version of the story first, then watch the play and see what was different and what was the same! How did our storytellers choose to adapt this story to the stage?
Throughout the story, the Ugly Duckling is looked down on by the other animals for being “ugly,” and they often say hurtful things to him. He sometimes gets into dangerous situations, too, as we wonder if the cat might pounce and eat him, or hunters with guns and dogs approach his hiding place. In most cases, the actors warn the audience when something scary is about to happen so you can be prepared for those moments!
This play is a great way to spark conversations about kindness and self-love. The other animals are often unkind to the Ugly Duckling because they don’t think he looks beautiful on the outside. Throughout his journey, the Duckling must learn to love himself and grow into the amazing bird he was always meant to be, both inside and out. It’s a great jumping-off point to talk about the times in our lives where people have been unkind to us, and how we can learn to love ourselves and choose to show kindness to those around us.
We love this story because it is a lovely, unique re-telling of the classic fairy tale, and the beautiful shadow puppetry is just the icing on the cake! We’ve all felt like an “ugly duckling” sometimes, so there’s something everyone can relate to in this story. We love it because it’s a story that reminds us how special every single one of us are encourages us to love ourselves dearly as we go through life’s journey.