By LOIS KINDLE
The East Bay High School Theatre Department will present A Year With Frog and Toad, Feb. 15 to 17, at the Kathryn Hill Auditorium, 7710 Big Bend Road, Gibsonton.
The doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the show starts at 7. Since the play is only a bit more than an hour long, there will be no intermission.
Admission is $5 per person. Tickets sold at the door. Social distancing will be observed in the auditorium, and sanitation stations will be available.
The family friendly musical, A Year with Frog and Toad, is based on the children’s books of Arnold Lobel. It’s a show for the young and young at heart.
“I always want our seasons to be as diverse as possible,” said Krista Pelham Blanchette, East Bay High’s theatre director. “Our first show of the season, Something Wicked This Way Comes, was very heavy with dark subject matter.
“This show is the exact opposite,” she continued. “It’s actually a children’s production but still has a message that resonates with adults. The songs are delightful and fun, but the music is challenging. This is just a wonderful, light show I think we could all use right now.”
Her students agree.
“I think this show is really darling,” said senior Elexa Gronewold, student assistant director. “It [reveals] the beautiful, innocent friendship of frog and toad, while also teaching important lessons about patience, gentleness and growth. We are so excited to [present] it.”
“Performing in this show is much different [from] anything I’ve done before, and that brings a whole new level of challenge and excitement,” said senior Ian Van Liew, who’s playing Snail and Bird. “The music and choreography [are] so much fun to perform!”
A Year with Frog and Toad takes the audience on a journey through a year with best friends Frog and Toad and an array of woodland creatures, including Snail, Turtle and flock of Birds.
The author’s daughter, Adrianne, commissioned the musical to be written by brothers Robert and Willie Reale. The show brought professional children’s theatre to Broadway and introduced live theatre to a new set of young viewers. It was nominated for three Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
Young members of the audience will have the opportunity to meet the woodland creatures after the show.
East Bay Theatre will present its musical theatre revue, Showstoppers 6.0, in April and the Broadway hit Little Shop of Horrors in May.
For more information, email krista.blanchette@hcps.net or call 813-671-5134, ext. 271.