'Frog And Toad' appeals to many

The play offers simple lessons about life and friendship.
By L. CROW
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBIANA -- 34west Theater Co. is up to its usual silliness, and this time in a big way. The troupe is presenting the Broadway hit "A Year With Frog And Toad," adapted to stage from the collection of books written by the late Arnold Lobel, by his daughter Adrienne. The musical takes the audience through a whole year, beginning with Frog and Toad waking up from hibernation in April to their awakening the following year, as Bird once again returns in the spring.
Frog and Toad, though different, are the best of friends. Frog (Steve Baldwin) is adventurous, optimistic and basically just happy about being a frog. Toad (Jeffrey Querin) is a whiny, impatient, worrywart who doesn't like to take risks.
All the other animals are played by Rebecca Whittenberger. The musical is actually a series of separate adventures that the two have, with a couple themes that run through the whole show.
A lonely Frog
At the beginning, Frog is lonely because his friend Toad has not awakened from hibernation. But when Toad's alarm clock goes off, he breaks it and goes back to sleep. All through the show, Toad is frustrated because he doesn't know what time it is, such as when he bakes the cookies, and can't tell when to take them out of the oven.
In another scene, Toad is sad because he's never gotten a letter in the mail, while Frog gets many. So Frog decides to write Toad a letter, and sends it "Snail mail." Unfortunately, Snail takes the whole year to deliver it. Then she gets a permanent job with the postal service.
The musical is filled with this kind of tongue-in-cheek humor, but more importantly, with simple, to-the-point messages about life and friendship.
Frog is eager to plant his garden, so Toad decides to plant one, too. Frog gives him some seeds, but Toad gets impatient when they don't come up immediately and yells at them. Later on, he feels bad, and apologizes to the seeds in a touching song, worried that they won't come up because they're afraid of him.
In another scene, he learns that Frog is out alone on an island in the pond. Toad worries that Frog is sad, and doesn't want to be his friend any more, so he packs a picnic lunch, and rows out on a log with Turtle. But the log overturns and the lunch gets wet. And he learns that Frog just wanted to be out on the island, enjoying being a frog.
For kids and adults
And so goes the rest of the musical, with moments of sweetness, poignancy and lots of humor. It's one of those plays that children will love, but adults understand at a different level.
The music is one of the best parts of this show. It is an eclectic mix of jazz, ragtime, soft-shoe and many other styles. The little band, consisting of Carla Jenkins on keyboard, Jeff Larson, on guitar and tuba, and Lana Campfield on percussion, is outstanding. Campfield's special effects, especially to emphasize the characters' movements, are hysterical.
Special praise must also go to Barb Scott and Pamela Querin for costumes, set and props. Though Frog and Toad wore basic green and brown, Whittenberger's costumes were a hoot. (Love that pillow she wore on her back as Turtle.)
This play will return in July, at both Das Dutch Village Inn in Columbiana and The Amish Door in Wilmot. For more information, contact 34west at (330) 965-0934.