A YEAR WITH FROG AND TOAD run dates: 6/27/2008- 6/29/2008 The Green Room Theatre, Rock Island, Illinois ____________________________________________________________________________
Before I tell you exactly how great it is, let me tell you that The Green Room’s A YEAR WITH FROG AND TOAD is too good to only run one weekend. Unfortunately, however, it does, so you’d better find a way to work this into your schedule right now.
Directed with a free-spirited elan by Derek Bertelsen, with a great collection of songs by Robert and Willie Reale – with music direction by Tyson Wm. Danner, who also plays piano – this sprightly little children’s musical is a real winner.
Chris Walljasper is a fantastic Frog, giving the character a lanky, ready-to-jump air that is perfect. He never overplays this, letting those characteristics appear subtly and naturally – and his singing is wonderfully done. On pitch, clear as can be, and gorgeously rendered, each of his songs just sounds great.
As Toad, Jeremy Stump fairs slightly less well, occasionally giving off an air of "I’m putting this on for the kiddies," which also affects his singing – but his performance suffers only because of the contrast with Walljasper’s naturalism. (As Toad is something of a whiner, perhaps it is appropriate for the actor playing him to be overtly acting, but I don’t think this is the best choice.)
The ensemble – Melissa Anderson Clark, James Bleeker, Lauren VanSpeybroeck and Catie Osborn – are all terrific, nearly stealing the show right out from under the webbed feet of the principals.
This is especially true when Bleeker is portraying Snail, whose delivery of "The Letter" (numbers one, two and three) are all truly amazing, and when Anderson Clark is leading the uber-lively "Getta Loada Toad" – which is the best of many great songs. Kelsey Nagel’s choreography here is totally inspired, and Anderson Clark just takes the material and runs with it – making the number a gigantic success.
Danner leads a fine musical combo, too, featuring Mark Ruebling on guitar and Hans Schnekloth on percussion.
Bertelsen’s choice to actively incorporate what he calls "the magic of live theatre " – costume changes, set pieces and so on – is a great one, showcasing the power of the imagination and making the whole process transparent for audience members of every age.
This A YEAR WITH FROG AND TOAD is a gloriously stunning example of what children’s musicals should be like, and I can only hope the production will be revived – and soon.
