A Year with Frog and Toad
Encyclopedia
A Year With Frog and Toad is a musical written by brothers Robert
(music) and Willie Reale
(book and lyrics), based on the Frog and Toad
children's stories written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel
. The musical follows the woodland adventures of two amphibious friends, a worrywart toad and a perky frog, with their assorted colorful hopping, crawling and flying companions, over the course of a year. The show broke new ground by bringing professional children's theatre to Broadway, sparking the interest of the age 3-to-10 set.
Arnold Lobel's daughter, Adrianne Lobel
, commissioned a musical based on her father's characters. She also designed the set, based on her father's writings. Her husband, actor Mark Linn-Baker
, adapted the stories into a theatrical script, and later played Toad in the musical's Broadway debut. The intimate, 5-actor piece is frequently played by community theatre companies.
) and first produced by the Children's Theatre Company
, Minneapolis, premiering on August 23, 2002, closing on November 2, 2002. It was directed by David Petrarca and choreographed by Daniel Pelzig. It next opened in New York City off-Broadway
at The New Victory Theater in November 2002 playing to good reviews and sold-out houses for several weeks.
A Year With Frog and Toad opened on Broadway at the Cort Theatre
on April 13, 2003, but after the jump from a $30 off-Broadway ticket to a $90 Broadway ticket, the show closed on June 15, 2003, after 73 performances and 15 previews.
The musical played a return engagement at the Children's Theatre Company November 16-December 31, 2004.
The next day, Frog writes a letter to Toad, because Toad is sad that he never receives mail, and gives it to snail to deliver ("The Letter"). They then go swimming in the pond, but Toad is embarrassed to be seen in his bathing suit, and he tries to slip unseen into the water ("Getta Load of Toad"). But the animals come to look at Toad in his suit, and eventually, freezing ("Underwater Ballet"), he must come out, where everyone sees him in his bathing suit.
Frog has left Toad a note that he has gone to the island and wants to be left alone on the island, and Toad worries that Frog is sad. He rides a log out to the island, bringing lunch for the two of them, but he falls off the log into the water. But it turns out that Frog is happy and simply wanted time alone to think ("Alone"). The two friends eat wet sandwiches. At Toad’s home, the two are making dinner. They also wolf down cookies that were supposed to be for dessert ("Cookies"). They then fly a kite with some difficulty, eventually succeeding despite heckling from the birds ("The Kite").
By the end of summer, leaves cover the ground. The two friends each intend to surprise the other by raking his yard ("He’ll Never Know"), but the squirrels soon make a mess of the neat piles of leaves, so they never discover the good deed that the other has done. A storm comes, and Frog tells Toad a scary semi-autobiographical story about a young frog, who escapes from a Large Terrible Frog before being eaten ("Shivers").
Now it is winter, and the two friends go sledding down a hill that frightens Toad ("Down The Hill"). Frog falls off the sled, which bears Toad on a dangerous and bumpy path. Toad is angry that Frog made him sled down the steep hill. Snail finally arrives with the letter that Frog had sent to Toad months earlier. The letter tells how Frog is only happy when his friend Toad is happy. Toad forgives Frog, and Snail is proud to have delivered his first letter ("I’m Coming Out Of My Shell"). Frog is late on Christmas Eve, and Toad is worried about all the bad things that might have happened to him ("Toad To The Rescue") Finally, Frog arrives, delayed by wrapping Toad’s present ("Merry Almost Christmas").
Frog and Toad are hibernating again in their respective beds. The Birds sing as spring approaches.
Act II
Robert Reale
Robert Reale is an American composer with a long list of credits in film, TV and theater. He is also the owner of and . Reale regularly works with younger brother Willie Reale. In 2003 he was nominated for a Tony Award for A Year with Frog and Toad for Best Original Musical Score...
(music) and Willie Reale
Willie Reale
Willie Reale is an American playwright and lyricist who often works with his elder brother Robert Reale.He had small acting roles in The Hudsucker Proxy, The Laser Man, Tales from the Darkside and The Burning...
(book and lyrics), based on the Frog and Toad
Frog and Toad
Frog and Toad are the main characters in a series of easy-reader children's books, written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel.Each book contains five simple, often humorous, sometimes poignant, short stories chronicling the exploits of a frog and his friend, a toad, simply named Frog and Toad...
children's stories written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel
Arnold Lobel
Arnold Stark Lobel was a popular American author of children's books. Among his most popular books are those of the Frog and Toad series, and Mouse Soup, which won the Garden State Children's Book Award from the New Jersey Library Association.Lobel won the 1981 Caldecott Medal for his book...
. The musical follows the woodland adventures of two amphibious friends, a worrywart toad and a perky frog, with their assorted colorful hopping, crawling and flying companions, over the course of a year. The show broke new ground by bringing professional children's theatre to Broadway, sparking the interest of the age 3-to-10 set.
Arnold Lobel's daughter, Adrianne Lobel
Adrianne Lobel
Adrianne Lobel is an American scenic designer and producer for theatre, opera, and dance known for her "very daring and creative sets."Lobel was raised in Brooklyn and took classes at the art school at the Brooklyn Museum, then worked as a draftsman at film studios...
, commissioned a musical based on her father's characters. She also designed the set, based on her father's writings. Her husband, actor Mark Linn-Baker
Mark Linn-Baker
Mark Linn-Baker is an American actor and director famous for his role as Larry Appleton on the television sitcom Perfect Strangers.-Early life and career:...
, adapted the stories into a theatrical script, and later played Toad in the musical's Broadway debut. The intimate, 5-actor piece is frequently played by community theatre companies.
Productions
The musical was workshopped in 2000 at New York Stage and Film (at Vassar CollegeVassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
) and first produced by the Children's Theatre Company
Children's Theatre Company
The Children's Theatre Company is a regional theatre established in 1961 in Minneapolis, Minnesota specializing in plays for families and young audiences and the recipient of a 2003 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre...
, Minneapolis, premiering on August 23, 2002, closing on November 2, 2002. It was directed by David Petrarca and choreographed by Daniel Pelzig. It next opened in New York City off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
at The New Victory Theater in November 2002 playing to good reviews and sold-out houses for several weeks.
A Year With Frog and Toad opened on Broadway at the Cort Theatre
Cort Theatre
The Cort Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 138 West 48th Street in the Theatre District of midtown Manhattan in New York City...
on April 13, 2003, but after the jump from a $30 off-Broadway ticket to a $90 Broadway ticket, the show closed on June 15, 2003, after 73 performances and 15 previews.
The musical played a return engagement at the Children's Theatre Company November 16-December 31, 2004.
Characters and original Broadway cast
- Frog -- Jay Goede
- Toad -- Mark Linn-BakerMark Linn-BakerMark Linn-Baker is an American actor and director famous for his role as Larry Appleton on the television sitcom Perfect Strangers.-Early life and career:...
- Bird, Turtle, Squirrel, Mother Frog, Mole -- Danielle FerlandDanielle FerlandDanielle Ferland is an American actress and singer.-Career:Ferland attended Bunnell High School in Stratford, CT from 1983–1987 and attended New York University....
- Bird, Mouse, Squirrel, Young Frog, Mole -- Jennifer GambateseJennifer GambateseJennifer "Gamby" Gambatese is an American actress and singer. She is gaining recognition by performing on stage, and even starring in Broadway productions. Gambatese has performed in the popular musical production of Disney's Tarzan.-Early life:...
- Bird, Snail, Lizard, Father Frog, Mole -- Frank VlastnikFrank VlastnikFrank Vlastnik is an American theatre and television actor. He is best known as an original cast member in the short lived musicals Big, The Sweet Smell of Success, and A Year with Frog and Toad on Broadway. His big break came when he was cast as the original understudy for the leading role in Big...
Synopsis
Frog and Toad are hibernating ("A Year With Frog and Toad"). The birds are ready for spring, as the sleeping friends sing about their friendship and the year ahead ("It’s Spring"). The protagonists awaken, and, Toad begins to plant a garden, impatient that his plants grow slowly. He yells at the seeds but then worries that they are afraid to grow ("Seeds"). He sings, dances and plays the tuba to encourage them, which seems to work.The next day, Frog writes a letter to Toad, because Toad is sad that he never receives mail, and gives it to snail to deliver ("The Letter"). They then go swimming in the pond, but Toad is embarrassed to be seen in his bathing suit, and he tries to slip unseen into the water ("Getta Load of Toad"). But the animals come to look at Toad in his suit, and eventually, freezing ("Underwater Ballet"), he must come out, where everyone sees him in his bathing suit.
Frog has left Toad a note that he has gone to the island and wants to be left alone on the island, and Toad worries that Frog is sad. He rides a log out to the island, bringing lunch for the two of them, but he falls off the log into the water. But it turns out that Frog is happy and simply wanted time alone to think ("Alone"). The two friends eat wet sandwiches. At Toad’s home, the two are making dinner. They also wolf down cookies that were supposed to be for dessert ("Cookies"). They then fly a kite with some difficulty, eventually succeeding despite heckling from the birds ("The Kite").
By the end of summer, leaves cover the ground. The two friends each intend to surprise the other by raking his yard ("He’ll Never Know"), but the squirrels soon make a mess of the neat piles of leaves, so they never discover the good deed that the other has done. A storm comes, and Frog tells Toad a scary semi-autobiographical story about a young frog, who escapes from a Large Terrible Frog before being eaten ("Shivers").
Now it is winter, and the two friends go sledding down a hill that frightens Toad ("Down The Hill"). Frog falls off the sled, which bears Toad on a dangerous and bumpy path. Toad is angry that Frog made him sled down the steep hill. Snail finally arrives with the letter that Frog had sent to Toad months earlier. The letter tells how Frog is only happy when his friend Toad is happy. Toad forgives Frog, and Snail is proud to have delivered his first letter ("I’m Coming Out Of My Shell"). Frog is late on Christmas Eve, and Toad is worried about all the bad things that might have happened to him ("Toad To The Rescue") Finally, Frog arrives, delayed by wrapping Toad’s present ("Merry Almost Christmas").
Frog and Toad are hibernating again in their respective beds. The Birds sing as spring approaches.
Musical numbers
Act I- A Year With Frog And Toad—Birds, Frog and Toad
- It's Spring—Frog, Toad and Birds
- Seeds—Toad
- The Letter—Snail
- Getta Loada Toad—Toad, Frog, Turtle, Mouse and Lizard
- Underwater Ballet—Orchestra
- Alone—Frog
- The Letter (Reprise) -- Snail
- Cookies—Frog, Toad and Birds
Act II
- Entr'Acte
- The Kite—Birds, Frog and Toad
- A Year With Frog And Toad (Reprise) -- Birds
- He'll Never Know—Frog and Toad
- Shivers—Young Frog, Father Frog, Mother Frog, Toad and Frog
- The Letter (Reprise) -- Snail
- Down The Hill—Frog, Toad and Moles
- I'm Coming Out Of My Shell—Snail
- Toad To The Rescue—Toad and Moles
- Merry Almost Christmas—Toad, Frog and Moles
- Finale—Birds, Toad and Frog
Original Broadway production
| Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Tony Award Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway... |
Best Musical Tony Award for Best Musical This is a list of winners and nominations for the Tony Award for Best Musical, first awarded in 1949. This award is presented to the producers of the musical.-1940s:* 1949: Kiss Me, Kate – Music and lyrics by Cole Porter, book by Samuel and Bella Spewack... |
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| Best Book of a Musical Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical The Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical is awarded to librettists of the spoken, non-sung dialogue, and storyline of a musical play. Eligibility is restricted to works with original narrative framework; plotless revues and revivals are ineligible... |
Willie Reale Willie Reale Willie Reale is an American playwright and lyricist who often works with his elder brother Robert Reale.He had small acting roles in The Hudsucker Proxy, The Laser Man, Tales from the Darkside and The Burning... |
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| Best Original Score Tony Award for Best Original Score The Tony Award for Best Original Score is the Tony Award given to the composers and lyricists of the best original score written for a musical in that year. The score consists of music and lyrics... |
Robert Reale Robert Reale Robert Reale is an American composer with a long list of credits in film, TV and theater. He is also the owner of and . Reale regularly works with younger brother Willie Reale. In 2003 he was nominated for a Tony Award for A Year with Frog and Toad for Best Original Musical Score... and Willie Reale Willie Reale Willie Reale is an American playwright and lyricist who often works with his elder brother Robert Reale.He had small acting roles in The Hudsucker Proxy, The Laser Man, Tales from the Darkside and The Burning... |
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