A Year with Frog and Toad

November 17 - January 15, 2012

Music by Robert Reale • Book and Lyrics by Willie Reale • Based on the books by Arnold Lobel
Originally presented on Broadway by Bob Boyett, Adrianne Lobel, Michael Gardner, Lawrence Horowitz and Roy Furman • Presented through special permission with MTI
Directed by Rita Giomi

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Details

Eternally optimistic Frog and perpetually conservative Toad adventure through the seasons in this Broadway musical. The friends plant flowers, swim, enjoy Christmas Eve and simply celebrate the little things in life. Ordinary events become delightfully humorous escapades as a sled ride instills the range of emotions from trepidation to comic terror and a snail trudges through snow with the most elongated mail delivery. This friendship triumphs through challenges and sends a heart-warming holiday message to whole family.

“These are important themes for young children: how to empathize with others, practice random acts of kindness, face our fears and celebrate the diversity in personalities. But it feels like the furthest thing from a moral lesson with this toe-tapping, laugh aloud celebration.” – Linda Hartzell

Location
Charlotte Martin Theatre

Age Recommendation
For All Ages

Performances

This production has past.

“a positive example of friendship”

variety

Reviews

Teen Tix Review: “Fear Not the Amphibians!”

Macaroni Kid: “Now Showing: A Year with Frog and Toad“

Examiner: “Come spend A Year with Frog and Toad“

Growing My Kids: “SCT presents A Year with Frog and Toad“

Seattle’s Child: “A Parent’s Review of A Year with Frog and Toad“

More Info

Curriculum Connections:

Friendship, Trust, Hibernation, Cooperation, Seasons, Loyalty, Reading, Individuality

Running Time:

1 hour 45 minutes

Cast and Design Team

SCT’s all ages holiday production stars Auston James as Frog and MJ Sieber as Toad, both last seen in SCT’s Lyle the Crocodile. Rounding out the cast is Christian Duhamel (Perô), Jennifer Sue Johnson (Perô) and Vickielee Wohlbach (Go, Dog. Go!).

The cast is supported by an outstanding production team led by Choreographer Marianne Roberts, Music Director Mark Rabe, Set Designer Edie Whitsett, Costume Designer Deborah Trout, Lighting Designer Geoff Korf, and Sound Designer Chris R. Walker.

The sets in this production will be enhanced from the version SCT did in 2004/2005. “I took on the challenge of re-thinking a past design and imagining it differently,” says Set Designer Edie Whitsett. “We made everything a stronger complement to the seasons.”
Accordingly, Costume Designer Deborah Trout’s biggest decision for the costumes was how much of an “animal look” should be portrayed. “Arnold Lobel’s sweet drawings show animals wearing human clothes. Our play has human actors playing animal characters, but with very human personalities,” says Trout. “We wanted something different, so we decided to suggest animal-ness without creating actual animals.”

Synopsis

Frog and Toad have very different personalities, but they are best friends just the same.
Their friendship gets tested and strengthened by the everyday adventures, trials and
triumphs of life.

The year begins as the two amphibians emerge from hibernation. In celebration of spring,
they plant flowers and marvel at the patience it takes to watch them grow. Yet even with
the contentment he gets from his flowers, Toad is very sad because he never, ever receives
any mail. Seeing his friend’s unhappiness, Frog secretly writes Toad a letter and sends it off
with Snail to be delivered. When the weather warms, a cool swimming hole calls, but Toad
is self-conscious in his bathing suit. His discomfort grows as he’s laughed at by the other
swimmers. Fortunately, Frog provides trusty support. It’s times like these that a good
friend really helps.

While Toad likes constant companionship, occasionally Frog wants some time alone. But
Toad is insecure and follows Frog to make sure their friendship is still intact. Reassured
that all is well, Toad bakes some delicious cookies. In fact, the cookies are so delicious they
can’t stop eating them! They enjoy a breezy day by flying a kite. Toad is rather clumsy, but
with help from Frog (and repeated tries), he finally gets his kite in the air. When autumn
comes, the two friends rake each other’s leaves. As seasons get cooler, Frog shares a ghost
frog story. But scary as it may be, it’s never too frightening with a friend and cup of tea.

Winter arrives. Frog convinces Toad to give sledding a try and he’s just starting to enjoy the
adventure when Frog is thrown into a snow bank. As the sled picks up speed with Toad
flying solo, his thrill turns to panic. Thinking Frog left him alone on a hazardous adventure,
Toad refuses to talk to his friend again. Just in time, Snail arrives carrying the letter it has
taken him nearly a year to deliver. When Toad reads the kind words from Frog, his anger
melts away.

On Christmas Eve, Toad is very worried when Frog is late coming over. He
gathers his courage and is ready to set out to rescue Frog from whatever danger he might
be in, but it turns out Frog was just delayed by wrapping Toad’s present. They enjoy a
warm and toasty holiday. Then it’s back to hibernation and dreams of the next wonderful
year to come.