The honking you may hear near the theater in the coming weeks isnot just another car alarm going unattended in the parking lot.It’s a lost duck.

“Honk!” is an award-winning musical comedy and willpremiere in the University Playwright’s Theatre Thursday at 8p.m.

The show is an energetic combination of singing, dancing,puppetry, costumes and wit that has something for audiences of allages.

Written by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, “Honk!”is a take-off on the classic tale of “The UglyDuckling” by Hans Christian Anderson, but with a fresh andcontemporary feel.

It is the story of Ugly, a duck that honks rather thanquacks.Different from the start, the young duckling isridiculed and scorned by the rest of his barnmates, including hisown father.

The audience follows a lost Ugly on his journey home to hismother, the only one who loves him.

Through these numerous musical encounters he learns timelesslessons on love, the beauty of uniqueness and the things that aretruly important in life.

The play, produced year-round throughout the country, iswidely-acclaimed, and has won London’s 2000 Olivier Award forBest New Musical.

For this incarnation, director Richard Bay has assembled a castto create a production of the play he says is an homage to the bigmusicals of the 1940s.

“To enhance a medium-sized cast, we’ve added puppetsto create big production numbers on a small stage,” said Bay,a theatre and dance professor.

While “Honk!” is a new spin on an oldchildren’s tale, and was created with children in mind, thecontent is substantial and smart enough to entertain adults aswell.

Boston critic Carolyn Clay describes the show as “cleverand charming … as if the Muppets were being played byhumans.”

Bay agrees and thinks students, faculty and parents alike willenjoy it as much as children.

“The lyrics are really clever and funny to adults,”Bay said.What: “Honk!”When: Nov. 20-23 and Dec. 2-7Times: 8 p.m. with 2 p.m. shows onSaturdaysWhere: Playwright’s TheatreTickets: $11/$18 general