The Arden Theatre presents 'A Year with Frog and Toad'

Willie Reale (book and lyrics) and Robert Reale's (music) charming portrayal of friends and neighbors Frog (Jeffrey Coon) and Toad (Ben Dibble) played the Arden in 2004 and 2009. Coon and Dibble embodied them in all three productions, and the uncomplicated joy of their performances is magical.

Little suspense, lots of fun

A Year with Frog and Toad has virtually no story; the title says it all. The show opens in spring, with the birds — played by Leigha Kato, Elexis Morton, and Steve Pacek — returning from their winter migration. The only suspense comes from Toad's complaint that he never receives mail. Frog decides to send him a letter, and entrusts Snail (Pacek) to deliver it. Will he ever get there? Will the delivery change Snail's life? Yes and yes, and it's delightful.

The show progresses through tidy episodes. Toad is impatient with seeds that don't grow immediately; they'll sprout soon, Frog assures him, which is "somewhere between now and later." Toad complains that he "looks funny in a bathing suit," so Frog gently reassures him, and then reveals his own ridiculous bathing costume. Toad makes cookies with Frog's help. The friends fly a kite. Summer lingers pleasantly.

The songs suggest the 1920s, and so do Richard St. Clair's costumes, dapper suits with subtle amphibian touches. Donald Eastman's set features both houses, inside and out, as well as an open area that suits the tale's many woodsy and watery locations. Thom Weaver's lighting completes the production's translucent glow, like a shimmering watercolor painting, and Jorge Cousineau's sound provides gentle nature sounds. Under Director Whit MacLaughlin, these elements merge in a performance that feels effortless in the way that only great work can.

Larger meanings

The Arden includes a post-show discussion in which kids get to ask questions, often about stagecraft. Revealing how illusions are created makes theater real and accessible. The actors also meet the audience in the lobby, allowing young spectators to become theater-savvy, and learning how stage differs from anything experienced on a screen.

Like People's Light and Theatre Company, the Arden devotes first-class talent and resources to their children's theater. Kids won't care that Coon, Dibble, and Pacek are Barrymore Award-winning musical theater performers, or that the design team is superb, but wow, they are! Kato played George Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan last season, and now she's a bird dressed like a '20s flapper and a skittish mouse. It's a treat.

While the show enchants young children, adults also find much to savor. There’s the theatrical delight of a scary story with amphibian religious undertones, in which the chorus plays young Frog and his parents. Frog and Toad offer a philosophical lesson when they rake each other's leaves as a surprise; mischievous squirrels ruin their work, so they never receive that gift, but, of course, the value wasn't in recognition, but rather in the pleasure of doing for another. There’s even metaphysical speculation when, at the beginning and end, the hibernating friends visit one another in their dreams. Do they dream each other, or share one dream?

A Year with Frog and Toad comes full circle to spring again, subtly suggesting the circular pattern of all life, and reminding us that childhood's magic is always with us if we take the time to notice.