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On Stage at Children’s Theatre: A Frog and a Toad

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The charming Tony nominated musical A Year with Frog and Toad returns to the Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre for the 2011 holiday season.  It continues through this Sunday, December 18. 

Based on Arnold Lobel’s Frog and Toad stories, it was written by brothers Willie and Robert Reale.  One of the show’s original producers was Lobel’s daughter Adrienne.  Lobel’s son-in-law Mark-Linn Baker was one of the original actors.  The production premiered at the Children’s  Theatre Company in Minneapolis and then played Off Broadway before transferring to Broadway.  The Broadway production received three Tony nominations: Best Musical, Best Book and Best Score.

The cast is led by Mark Hansen and Dennis Glasscock as the title characters respectively.  The other parts are played by Paige Herschell, Vanessa Sterling and Chris Straw.  The set design is by Miranda Young, costume design by Erin Larkin, lighting design by Adam Britt and Lori Isner is the musical director.

Children’s Theatre alum Scott Ferguson is the guest director of this production.  He was a fixture on the Children’s Theatre stage in the 1980s as a teen. Since then he has received recognition as a director and author.  His work Schoolhouse Rock Live!has been performed Off Broadway, nationwide and on the Arts Center stage.  Based in Chicago, he is Artistic Director, Theatrebam Chicago; Collective Member/Director of Project Development, Bailiwick Chicago; a director and teacher at the National High School Institute of Northwestern University; Artistic Associate, About Face Theatre and a residency artist and teacher for Urban Gateways: Center for Arts In Education.