A&E: Actors Theatre of Indiana Goes Green
By Lou Harry—Indianapolis Business Journal
12/22/2007
This week, theatrical extremes—the gentle “A Year with Frog and Toad” and its opposite, the brutal “Assassins.”
Frog is confident. Toad is self doubting. Frog gets mail. Toad doesn’t. Frog is willing to take some risks. Toad is cautious. Frog looks funny in a bathing suit. Toad looks funnier in a bathing suit. And then there’s an action packed fight sequence in which … No, that doesn’t happen. Frog and Toad are friends. They love each other. They are happy when the other is happy. But then the villain comes to town, a giant …
Nope, no villain. Over the course of 12 months, very little happens to Frog and Toad. Their lives don’t change. Nothing really threatens their existence or their livelihood. They eat cookies (perhaps a few too many). They fly a kite. Toad gets mad at Frog, briefly, over a sledding incident, but the conflict is quickly resolved through kind words.
And then there’s the big finish, where …
Nope. Show’s over.
But, damn, if these two anthropomorphic amphibians didn’t win me over in Actors Theatre of Indiana’s production of the musical “A Year with Frog and Toad” at the Pike Performing Arts Center. (Note: While “A Year with Frog and Toad” closed Dec. 23, a 35-minute version will be performed at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis from March 11-April 20th.)
Perhaps the gentlest of productions ever seen on Broadway (yes, somehow this slice of peacefulness found its way there after a sold-out off-Broadway run), “A Year with Frog and Toad” steadfastly refuses to be cynical, it refuses to indulge in pop-culture references, and it refuses to pander.
In essence, it says “Remember when friendship mattered? When there was a burning in your soul because you upset your buddy?” And it says it repeatedly and beautifully. I’m honestly getting choked up here thinking about the moment when Frog (the bright Bradley Reynolds) has to explain to Toad (an eminently huggable Don Farrell) why he occasionally needs to go off into the woods by himself. “This morning I woke up and thought, ‘I am happy,’” sings Frog. “It’s been since April since I have been sad. I’ll go be alone to think how I’m happy. For all that I have, and all that I’ve had.”
Let me be clear. This isn’t Barney. This isn’t The Doodlebops.
This is theater that talks directly to kids while moving open-to-the-experience adults.
I’m all for ironic kids theater. I’m all for action adventure. But I’m thrilled that a show such as this exists—and that it’s been given such a loving staging by the ATI folks. “A Year with Frog and Toad” is what Sesame Street should be doing on stage instead of those big, vacuous arena shows.
Is this a perfect production? Nope. The Kite scene feels like it was stolen from the You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown playbook and the scary story scene is fuzzy. Plus the …
You know what? In the spirit of Frog and Toad and the holidays, why carp? Actors Theatre of Indiana gave us a very lovely gift this year.
Frog would say “thank you.”
So would Toad.
So do I.