Part 1: Creating “A Year with Frog and Toad” and the Journey to Becoming the Tony-nominated Hit: The Beginning
The story of how the musical “A Year with Frog and Toad” was born, premiered at Children’s Theatre Company (CTC) and then transferred to Broadway was indeed a story about perfect timing brought together by a deep love for the classic stories of friendship by Arnold Lobel. In Part 1, we hear from the creative team on bringing the work to life and hear stories about the cast.
THE INSPIRATION
At the center of bringing the work together was Adrianne Lobel, the daughter of Frog and Toad book author Arnold Lobel. She had been working in New York as a set designer for many years and had a certain vision for what she hoped a Frog and Toad musical might become.
Adrianne reflected on the first conversations about creating the musical with Willie and Robert Reale, who wrote the script, lyrics and music, “Willie Reale had been a friend of mine for a while, working on various projects together. What I love about him is that he is very witty and never talked down to children, which is very much the way my father wrote. Like the Gershwins, Willie and Rob work together almost exclusively.
“I explained to them that I had always thought of Frog and Toad as vaudevillian, similar to Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly in that musical number The Babbitt and the Bromide. In fact, part of the reason my father wrote the books came from Vaudeville, his love for 1920s and 30s comedy teams and he loved that early Jazz period of music. So, I told Willie and Rob that I wanted to write a Gershwin musical for Frog and Toad.”
“Rob and Willie [Reale] are sort of joined at the hip as brothers who create together,” stated Peter Brosius. “They were a fabulous team. We knew they had found the right language, and a thread for the stories to come together. They also didn’t shy away from those disruptive moments in a friendship, for example when Frog and Toad fight, there are consequences, it is real. The stakes were clear. The music wasn’t afraid of real. It is filled with great lessons, for not just young people, but everyone. What they created was lovely.”
THE FIRST WORKSHOP
In the summer of 2000, they workshopped the musical at New York Stage and Film, an organization of which Mark Linn-Baker is one of the founders. The original vision was that the musical would premiere in New York (Adrianne and her father’s home) at the New Victory Theatre. However, as the New Victory is a presenting house (meaning they only present finished works, not world premiere productions), they needed a place to produce it. She loved the idea of the musical receiving its debut at CTC so plans moved forward.
“I sent everything: the script, CD and some basic sketches of what I expected it to look like, off to Peter at CTC,” said Adrianne Lobel. “Two days later, I got the call from Peter saying ‘we want this here.’ CTC was my top choice. I had always heard great things about it and always wanted to work there. It is the most prominent children’s theatre in the country. I was lucky to get my top choice for this work.”
“What attracted us to this musical was its humor, tenderness, restraint and elegance,” remembers Peter Brosius. “It isn’t a loud piece and is not filled with physical comedy. The songs are deceptively simple, and yet they have real hooks and live in your brain for life. I loved the clarity of this relationship between these two friends; so moving, so true.”
THE CREATIVE TEAM AND CAST
Director David Petrarca was the resident director at the Goodman Theatre prior to embarking on the Frog and Toad adventure. Today, his name may have some familiarity as he has directed many TV shows such as Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, True Blood, Dawson’s Creek and many others.
“Then I brought David Petrarca, another great friend of mine, to the project,” remembers Adrianne Lobel. “David had the wonderful idea to set the beginning and the end as the two hibernating. The team brought many little ideas that weaved the bigger picture together. ”
In fact, the work really was a labor of love for Adrianne and her friends. “There was James Ingalls [lighting designer] who I worked with countless times on various projects, Marty Pakledinaz who was my favorite costume designer in the entire world. And of course, Toad was written for my then-husband Mark Linn-Baker. I think I married him because he reminded me of Toad! He was born for the role. And we all knew what Mark could do as a comedian, so the role was actually tailored for him. And lucky for me, everyone said yes. It is wonderful to think that the Frog and Toad story is about friendship and bringing it together was a labor of love for my group of friends.”
Award-winning choreographer Daniel “Danny” Pelzig was brought in to create movement and dance for the characters. He has worked with numerous theatres on and off Broadway and the world’s premiere opera houses, such as the Metropolitan Opera and La Scala in Milan. He is both a choreographer as well as a director.
By the time it was sent to CTC, the musical was already written, the designers (all from New York) were already selected and the cast was nearly complete. Additionally, financial support from TV and theatre producer Bob Boyett helped ensure all elements for success would be possible.
Bob was also one of the producers for Perfect Strangers, the TV sitcom in which Mark Linn-Baker starred.
Linn-Baker was married to Adrianne Lobel from 1995–2009 and their daughter Ruby was only four months old at the time they started rehearsal. “It was the summer of 2002 when I first came out to Minneapolis,” reflects Adrianne Lobel. “I was very nervous as I had my new baby with me, and I was functioning as a producer and a designer, meanwhile my then husband was in the show playing Toad. CTC was completely supportive of my situation. I was soon surrounded by young women who had grown up at the theater and were happy to do child care for me. My baby daughter lay on a blankie in rehearsal and made friends with all the characters … Mouse, Frog, Snail, etc. There was endless music and fun and it must have been a magical time for her. She sat up for the first time in rehearsal and got a standing ovation! I was very busy but also very lucky that A Year with Frog and Toad happened where it did. It was a magical time for me as well.”
Playing opposite Mark Linn-Baker was Jay Goede. Originally from Minnesota, Jay received his BFA in theatre from the University of Minnesota. He had previously acted on Broadway in Angels in America and even voiced Mewtwo in Pokemon: The First Movie in 1998 and was cast in Frog and Toad a few days before rehearsal was set to begin in Minneapolis. “Jay’s role as Frog gave such profound love, empathy, resilience and flexibility balancing the nuttiness of his friend, Toad. That role is so important.” In 2006, he played the Grinch in Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas at the Old Globe in San Diego, CA. Jay has recently moved back to Minneapolis.
The three ensemble actors who play multiple woodland antagonists such as birds, moles, mice and squirrels, include Danielle Ferland, Kate Reinders and Frank Vlastnik whose role of Snail was modified during rehearsal. “Mark had been in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” said Adrianne. “One of the theatrical devices I loved was the repeating character who keeps re-appearing in various scenes as a kind of thread. So we decided to add that reappearing character in with Snail. And of course we needed that 11 AM number (i.e. the 11 o’clock number).”
A Year with Frog and Toad opened to glorious reviews in August of 2002 and ran through November when it would open 13 days later at the New Victory Theatre in New York City. Reflecting back on opening night, Adrianne said, “It’s always delightful to see an audience of children, because they tell you so much. They do not sit politely and suffer fools, or boredom. All you have to do is listen to the audience reaction to find out if you were successful or not. I remember the roar of laughter when Toad hits the clock with the shoe and the springs jump out, so I thought, ‘well that worked!’”
