THEATER: A Year With Frog and Toad

ARTsmART with the State High Thespians presented A YEAR WITH FROG AND TOAD recently and if you did not take your favorite youngster to see it, you both missed a fun show.

What made this production so special is that the high school students were responsible for everything from the choreography to publicity to sound design, and yes, even to the baking of the cookies. I can not begin to tell of all of the creative touches throughout the show; I loved the actress who played the fire in the fireplace at Christmas time.

Frog and Toad were played by Stephen Zimmerer and Tyler Weakland, respectively. Both young men had exceptional voices and great stage presence. Tyler was as full of fears and negativity as I always pictured Toad, but it was easy to see why he and easy-going Frog were good friends.

It is important that any “animal” show give the audience fun characters while staying within the natural character of the animal. This was probably best shown by Snail as she slooowly delivered the letter to Toad. I thought that Morgan Sichler played Snail because she was pretty and had a lovely smile. Then Morgan did her solo “I’m Coming Out of My Shell” and blew me away. This was no quiet little snail!

The Birds, Kylie Bumbarger, Madeline Lusk, and Jana Bontrager, were delightful. Their voices blended so well, reminding us older folks of the Andrew Sisters. The luggage for the trip South was a nice touch.

It is hard to pick out individuals from the ensemble. The turtles, frogs, seeds, moles, etc were played by Page McDonough, Bryanna Kifolo, Sasha Scherlinsky, Kim Farnsworth, and Taliya Reisterer. Jacob Hopkins was the voice of Large and Terrible Frog and really should check into a future in horror movies. He was frightening. The one person who did stand out for me was Jason Doll. I can not wait to see what he does in the future; he has a voice that I will remember and seemed to be having a ball with his parts, even if it was just standing there being a Christmas tree.

This was a show that was clever, very creative, moved exceptionally well (a vital element for a children’s show) and full of cast and crew who were having a great time. I am already excited to see their Spring Musical.