Today, the Soiree Society of the Arts completed the dress rehearsal for its upcoming October performance of The Ugly Duckling.

When news reaches them that the dashing Prince Simon is coming to seek the hand of their daughter, the King and Queen act quickly to prevent him from backing out on the plain-looking princess. Their plan is to replace her with her more attractive, if less intelligent, maid Dulcibella . . . until the wedding. What they don’t realize is that the plain-looking Prince has also exchanged places with his more handsome man-servant Carlo. A. A. Milne’s The Ugly Duckling, written in 1941, is a delightfully comic play exploring the theme of beauty: How important is outward beauty?