A Year With Frog And Toad has just finished its successful 16-day run at Wheelock Family Theatre. The show is about a frog and a toad who awake from hibernation in the spring. These two are best friends and spend the whole year together, baking cookies, going swimming, raking leaves, telling scary stories, gardening and going sledding. Throughout these adventures. they both learn life lessons and their friendship grows stronger. A Year With Frog And Toad is a show about celebrating individuality and a friendship that can last through all the seasons.
A Year With Frog And Toad opened on Saturday, November 30th and just closed this past Sunday on December 15th. The show’s books and lyrics were written by Willie Reale, the music was constructed by Robert Reale and it was based on the books Frog And Toad by Arnold Lobel. The show was then taken by Leigh Barrett who directed the production at Wheelock, and along with her was David Freeman Coleman as music director and Brad Reinking as choreographer.
At the helm of the show is Will McGarrahan as Toad and Anthony Pires Jr as Frog, then a three-person ensemble that consists of Alan Cid as Bird/Lizard/Large & Terrible Frog, Tadar Shipley as Bird/Turtle/Squirrel/ Mother Frog and Kristian Espritu as Snail/Bird/Mouse/Squirrel. The show is also joined by a sixteen-person youth ensemble to play the moles. The sixteen kids are from all over the Massachusetts area and rotate a show schedule, having eight kids in each performance.
I had the pleasure to visit this production on their closing performance on December 15th and I thought that the show was super cute and very well performed. This show’s target audience is definitely for younger kids, and it is clear the minute you walk into the theater and see the swarms of children in the lobby. But even though Frog and Toad is meant for a younger audience it is still highly enjoyable to all age groups. The show’s design was very well thought out and the sets, lights and costuming were all eye candy to the audience. The costumes designed by Chelsea Kerl was one of my favorite parts of the production. She captured the essence of all the animals so perfectly, making them dressed like humans but perfectly clear to the audience which animals they were portraying. I sat in the third row for this production so I really got to experience and appreciate the whole show in its full, and notice some details that may have escaped me if I was sitting further away. The lighting and set design by Deb Sullivan and Jenna McFarland Lord really transported the audience into each season and the transitions between each were breathtaking and it was always obvious when there was a shift so younger audiences didn’t get confused.
The cast of the show drew you into their world the minute that the pre-show announcements went off and the trio of Alan Cid, Tadar Shipley and Kristian Espritu flew onstage from their migration as the trio of birds and introduced you to Anthony Pires Jr.’s Frog And Will McGarrahan’s Toad. The duo carried the show throughout its 80-minute run time, keeping the audience invested in their friendship and their adventures. Anthony Pires Jr. as Frog was nothing short of a bundle of joy, he kept the audience entertained with his strong vocals and his animated facial expressions and body language. All the kids in the audience were silent when he sang “Alone” sitting at the top of the stage as his voice filled the theatre. Then Will McGarrahan as Toad always provided a good laugh for the audience, being more a comedic character. McGarrahan nailed all of his laugh lines, hearing a row of tiny laughter as they were delivered. Playing the stubborn toad seemed like no difficult feat for this veteran actor. The duo shined together, playing off of each other perfectly. As an audience member you could really tell how close these two actors were in real life. The duo really made an impact on the audience during their duets of “Cookies” and “He’ll Never Know”, using their powerful vocals, chemistry and comedic timing to make these numbers memorable to the audience. The trio of Alan Cid, Tadar Shipley and Kristian Espritu also left lasting impacts on the audience. They helped lead the audience through the seasons with their upbeat acting, dancing, and gorgeous three-part harmonies. All together the trio covered eleven roles in the show and every role they played was well distinguished with their acting. Though an audience favorite was Kristian Espritu as Snail, bringing laughs and smiles as “the snail with the mail” through a 3 part song called “The Letter” but then continued to bring the house down with her final number “I’m Coming Out Of My Shell”. All together though the cast was very talented and made the show super fun to watch, there was never a dull moment and the main cast of five really made the number “Getta Loada Toad” the highlight number of the show for me. They brought comedy, amazing vocals, and fun to the numbers, really making me appreciate Brad Reinking’s choreography.
Sometimes after a show at Wheelock Family Theatre, you’ll be lucky enough to encounter one of their red carpet days. Where the cast of the show will come out into the lobby in full costume, to take photos, talk and sign programs. I got the extra bonus of attending a red carpet day at the theatre and got to meet the whole cast after the show. Along with their talent, every cast member was so kind, making time for each person they talked to. I was able to get signatures from the whole cast and talk to them about the show. It really made the whole experience even better! So if you’re ever at Wheelock Family Theatre on a red carpet day make sure to stick around to say hi to the cast, because you won’t regret it!
Overall, I really enjoyed this production. The show itself was super cute, fun, and super enjoyable. The set design, costuming, and lighting design were definitely a highlight of this production and really stood out to me. The cast was incredible keeping the audience entranced in their world for 80 minutes. They were all super talented and you could tell everyone on stage was having a great time. This production was such a joy and I walked out of the theatre with a huge smile on my face.
