A Year With Frog and Toad, the well-reviewed family-friendly musical that emerged in Minneapolis in summer before playing the current two-week run at the New Victory Theatre in Manhattan, will make the leap to Broadway in early 2003, according to The New York Times.
As he had previously told newspapers, producer Bob Boyett will produce the commercial Broadway run of the whimsical not-for-profit-launched tale, based on the children's books by Arnold Lobel.
The Times reported Boyett would transfer the current production, designed by Lobel's daughter, Adrianne, who will also co-produce, to a small Broadway theatre "before the spring school holidays."
The Robert and Willie Reale show debuted at Minneapolis' Children's Theatre Company. Willie wrote the book and lyrics. His brother, Robert, provided the music, written with a 1920s jazz feel. The siblings are known in New York for the Off-Broadway musical, Once Around the City, seen at Second Stage in summer 2001.
David Petrarca (Marvin's Room, Fuddy Meers) directs. The show had several regional readings that included actor Robert Sella (Side Man and the tour of Angels in America). Boyett (Fortune's Fool, The Goat or Who Is Sylvia?, Dance of the Vampires) previously told the Minneapolis Star Tribune Nov. 24 that he was interested in reopening the show in the spring, possibly on Broadway, and with a national tour to follow.
A Year With Frog and Toad is based on the award winning books about a pair of amphibians with an unwavering friendship despite their very different personalities. The small-cast musical, which began at the New Vic Nov. 15 and features five performers — one to play Frog (Goede) and one to play Toad (Linn-Baker), plus Danielle Ferland (the original Little Red of Into the Woods), Kate Reinders (the upcoming Broadway Gypsy) and Frank Vlastnik as menagerie of other creatures. The virtually sold-out run at the New Vic ends Dec. 1. No casting or additional information has been announced about the Broadway run.
Capitalization is reported at about $3 million. The orchestra totals eight, according to the show's orchestrator, Irwin Fisch.
A Year With Frog and Toad marks the New York debut for Children's Theatre Company. The Minneapolis based troupe, one of the largest children's theatres in the country, produces six mainstage productions a year, teaches acting and performing classes in a conservatory environment and tours the Midwest and the world. For more information on Children's Theatre Company, visit http://www.childrenstheatre.org
A Year With Frog and Toad opened at the New Vic Nov. 17. Tickets range $10-$30. For tickets and information, call (212) 239 6200. The New Victory is on the web at http://www.newvictory.org.
