Review: “A Year With Frog And Toad”

On the opening night for A Year with Frog and Toad, my niece and I arrived to the Children’s Theatre in borderline matching outfits: heavy boots and short, flowy dresses. As we mounted the stairs, chatting about her most recent sleepover, we were delighted to find an opening night party in the lobby. We grabbed a couple frog-themed friendship bracelets, increased our twinning quotient with complimentary Frog and Toad tattoos, and hit up the photobooth a couple times. By the time we finished meandering the lobby and entered the theater itself, we were primed to adore anything that appeared on that stage.

And adore it we did. From the moment that conductor Victor Zupanc, clad in his signature black and gold blazer, waved at the audience (“I didn’t know he was in there!!” my niece whispered excitedly) to the final bows from the exuberant five-person cast, my niece and I and the entire audience were all in on A Year with Frog and Toad.

A Year with Frog and Toad is inspired by the series of children’s books written by Arnold Lobel in the 1970s. These books – and the play by extension – are characterized by the warm, earthy tones that the ’70s were known for. Set designer and daughter of the author, Adrianne Lobel, created the sets of A Year with Frog and Toad, which pay loving homage to her father’s original art. Rather than rely on the bright colors and chaos that characterizes so much of modern children’s entertainment, this play has full confidence in its ability to capture and hold attention through the simple adventures of two best friends told through song.

Children’s Theatre Company superfans might recognize this musical. Commissioned by Adriane Lobel and written by Robert and Willie Reale, A Year with Frog and Toad first premiered at the theater in August of 2002. It was nominated for three Tonys and moved to Broadway in 2003. Since then, this charming, all-ages show has returned to CTC a handful of times, with the last time being in the spring of 2017. The remounting of this heartwarming, all-ages show is a welcome treat.

This year’s production has a great cast. Frog (John-Michael Zuerlein) and Toad (Reed Sigmund) have great chemistry and Sigmund especially has the comedic timing needed for a role like Toad. The rest of the woodland creatures are played by Becca Claire Hart, Ryan London Levin, and Janely Rodriguez. The audience is first introduced to them as a trio of migrating birds, after which they return as mice, squirrels, lizards, moles, and more.

The structure of A Year with Frog and Toad is simple: it is one year in the life of two best friends. Frog is the patient, fastidious, and self-assured friend. Toad, by way of contrast, is impatient, lackadaisical, and self-conscious. Still, the two of them love each other deeply. Whether they are secretly raking each other’s yards, flying kites together, telling scary stories over tea, or literally showing up in each other’s dreams, the pair are as committed to each other as two friends can be.

Considering the closeness of Frog and Toad and the fact that Arnold Lobel came out as gay later in life, there are theories that Frog and Toad might be more than friends. Whether their relationship is platonic or romantic, though, the moral of the show stays the same: life is made brighter and better when we have someone we love to share it with.

A Year with Frog and Toad – which is a whopping two hours long plus intermission – flew by in a rush of silly jokes, catchy tunes, and anthropomorphized animal antics. The music is great throughout, but my niece and I both agreed that aside from “Cookies” (which, yes, did influence us into buying and sharing one of the jumbo T-Rex cookies at intermission), almost all of our favorite songs were in the second act. My niece loved “He’ll Never Know” in which the two friends conspire to secretly do chores for each other. I loved “Toad to the Rescue” in which Toad convinces himself that although he might be afraid he can still be brave. We both loved the scary story song “Shivers”.

Oh. And we, along with the entire audience, loved every. Single. Snail. Mail. Solo.

One of the delights of opening night is seeing an actor realize that their character is going to be a fan favorite. This is exactly what happened with the mail-carrying snail played by Levin. Early in the play Frog gives Snail a letter to deliver to Toad. It takes Snail an entire year to finish the task, which means that there are several interludes throughout the play in which Snail expounds on his  newfound passion and purpose: delivering mail. Levin got a little hammier with each solo and the audience returned his energy with cheers, rhythmic clapping, and probably more laughs than Levin was expecting. It was a joy.

This is a charming piece of theater, best enjoyed with a little one (or two or three) at your side. “Getta a Loada Toad” along with all of his cold- and hot-blooded friends at the Children’s Theatre Company this spring.

A Year with Frog and Toad runs through June 16. Tickets are available online or through the box office, both of which are listed below.

A Year with Frog and Toad
Children’s Theatre Company 
2400 3rd Ave S, Minneapolis
(612) 874-0400
www.childrenstheatre.org