Quote of the Day: Frog said, ‘I wrote ‘Dear Toad, I am glad that you are my best friend. Your best friend, Frog.’ ‘Oh,’ said Toad, ‘that makes a very good letter.’Then Frog and Toad went out onto the front porch to wait for the mail. They sat there, feeling happy together. Arnold Lobel
Reed Sigmund as Toad and Bradley Greenwald as Frog in A Year with Frog and Toad at the Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis, MN. Photo by Dan Norman
Think of one of your dearest friends. Think of the fun things you like to do together, where you go, what you talk about, little things you do for each other to make the other feel happy and loved. Think about how sometimes you have different ideas about things, do something different from each other, and can even annoy each other at times, but in the end you love each other anyway. That’s what A Year with Frog and Toad is all about. It’s about that kind of friend. The one who doesn’t like to get up as early as you do. The one who looks funny in a bathing suit. The one that eats all the cookies with you in a frantic cooking eating frenzy! The one who rakes your leaves, while you’re raking theirs, only to be messed up by those rascally squirrels. I hope everyone has such a friend.
Matthew Rubbelke, Traci Allen Shannon, and Autumn Ness as the Birds/ensemble in CTC’s A Year with Frog and Toad. Photo by Dan Norman
This amphibian odd couple delights, entertains, and shows us what true friendship is all about. Autumn Ness, Traci Allen Shannon, and Matthew Rubbelke fill in a variety of characters, including the singing/dancing/story telling Geese. They move the story along with mischief and fun, snail mail delivery, and great harmonization.
Victor Zupanc once again lends his genius in Keyboard and Conducting an excellent orchestra. Kids love peaking into the pit before the show starts and during intermission. Sometimes, interesting prop/set pieces rise from their area during the show.
Cast of A Year with Frog and Toad at CTC. Photo by Dan Norman
The creative team at The Children’s Theatre Company knows how to make a show magical and interesting. The set is divine. The characters are loving and quirky. The music is exquisite. The story telling is divine, and we always leave feeling just a little bit better about the world we live in. At the heart of every show is love.
You can see A Year with Frog and Toad at the Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis, MN through June 18, 2017. The show premiered at CTC in 2002.
Go. Create. Inspire!
Journaling Prompt: Write about one of your dearest friends.
We all need those kinds of friends. And the kids look like they are having a blast on that stage.
Thanks, Lee. The actors aren’t technically kids. Although, they do a great job of playing characters of various ages and species!
I caught this show with my son (age 5) in Philadelphia back in the fall, and it was a lot of fun. Great music, costumes, and heart, as you say. It’s been six months, but he still breaks out his Snail with the Mail impression every once in a while.
Awesome, Nate. I remember when you announced the birth of your son. You called him “Little Professor” and now he’s already five! Glad you saw this wonderful show!
Not only is he 5, but he’s started playing Clue, which was the inspiration for his online nickname. (We started with the names when the “What to Expect…” books said he was the size of a plum.)
You certainly see a ton of live performances! It must be challenging to squeeze them all in.
I am new in the area, and have finished my first screen play. Is there a screen writing group a newby can be a part of? I am aware of the poetry and writer’s group at the library, and I am published in fiction and poetry as well as children’s books, but I would like to meet other screenwriters in the area. Maybe a group could be formed if there is not an active one present. Thanks
Let’s get together! Congrats on your publications.