Fun for kids, but at a cost
Monday, April 14, 2003
BY MICHAEL SOMMERS
Star-Ledger Staff
NEW YORK -- A lighthearted little musical for kids, "A Year with Frog and Toad" comes with a heavyweight top Broadway ticket price of $90.
Sure, there are less costly seats to be had at the lovely old Cort Theatre, where the new tuner opened yesterday, but they're mostly up in the nosebleed regions.
A nifty event for youngsters that passes the time enjoyably enough for their escorts, this cute musical might have priced itself out of business by going to Broadway after a hugely successful run at the New Victory Theater last November. (Then it cost $30 tops to take a kid and even less for subscribers.)
Well, enough mention of money; let's get on with the show.
Created from Arnold Lobel's 1970s series of children's books, "A Year with Frog and Toad" is a family affair. The late author-illustrator's daughter, Adrianne Lobel, a gifted stage designer, is responsible for the musical's airy good looks and also is one of its producers. Actor Mark Linn-Baker, who stars in the show, is Lobel's husband.
Back in the summer of 2001, Lobel designed and Linn-Baker directed "Once Around the City," a truly dreadful off-Broadway musical by the team of composer Robert Reale and writer Willie Reale, brothers and now the makers of "A Year with Frog and Toad."
Their latest venture is a far happier event; an easygoing account of best friends passing the seasons together. Frog (Jay Goede) and Toad (Linn-Baker) plant gardens, try swimming, fly kites, tell spooky stories, go sledding and share goodies like tea and cookies. Birds, squirrels and similar woodland denizens join in their activities or sometimes poke fun.
A show meant for little ones ages 4 and up, the episodic story -- suggesting "The Wind in the Willows" Lite -- is enlivened by the Reales' bright assortment of tickle-toe songs.
"Getta Loada Toad," in which he is mocked for looking funny in a bathing suit, is a bouncy ragtime fox-trot (that threatens to resolve into "Stumbling"). "Cookies" proves to be a propulsive mini-chorale that concludes the first act in cloudbursts of crumbs. "The Letter" is a running gag about snail mail couched in an upbeat country-western style.
Inspired by her father's illustrations, Lobel designs cheerful settings that look whimsical without being coy. Martin Pakledinaz's clever costumes blend human and animal traits with a 1920s fashion sense. James F. Ingalls' lighting casts a gentle glow upon everything. The show originated at the Children's Theatre Company of Minneapolis, a troupe known for the visual charm of its attractions, and this one is no exception.
The performances are lovable, led by Linn-Baker's worrywart of a Toad and Goede's sprightly Frog. During a preview the other evening, a mishap with a prop that fell apart scarcely fazed them, so meshed are they in amiable tandem. Danielle Ferland's turn as a henpecking bird and Frank Vlastnik's determinedly slo-mo snail are other bright spots in the show that skips along in a brisk 90 minutes.
Director David Petrarca, so smart with kooky material like "Kimberly Akimbo," delivers an upbeat musical for kids that never condescends and always entertains.
About those prices, though ... interested parties are directed to the TKTS discount tickets booth in upper Times Square, where it's likely half-price seats for the show are available.
Snagged from:
NJ.com & The Star-Ledger