By On Friday, April 17, A Year with Frog and Toad, made its public opening to students and community members at the Carroll College Flex Theatre.
The production was directed by professor Kim Shire, head of the Carroll College Theatre Department. Shire had previously directed the show 10 years ago, during her first year working at Carroll.
“Coming into Helena with a degree in theatre for young audiences, it was really important to me that I prove something,” said Shire. “I wanted to make sure that the community understood that theatre for younger audiences at Carroll was going to be different from what I presented in the past.”
Shire felt that children’s theatre, which often gets pushed aside or dumbed down, needs to be taken just as seriously as the commercial theatre.
“Kids’ theaters need to be just as legitimate, and even more sophisticated than adult theatre,” said Shire. “I think a lot of adults don’t understand that.”
Because the TYA show A Year with Frog and Toad is designed for younger audiences, the department added daytime performances for local elementary and middle schools, bringing the total to 17 shows over two weeks.
The show is based on the beloved children’s books “Frog and Toad,” and emphasizes the contrasting personalities of Frog, the charming and overconfident friend, and Toad, the caring but anxious overthinker.
“There’s so much nostalgia to it,” said Shire. “And also the memory of what friendship is and how uncomplicated it can be for kids.”
The Carroll College Orchestra, made up of students, provided the score for the musical. Rebecca Kagerer, the director of the Carroll College Orchestra said the score was written for professional musicians.
“I think that both actors and musicians benefit from the intensely beautiful collaborative musical storytelling that is musical theatre,” said Kagerer. “They lean on each other to bring out the best in a performance. Neither aspect is fully complete without the other.”
The show was a hit, and many kids and parents left the theater smiling, laughing and singing the catchy songs to themselves.
“I’m still trying to prove to the world that we need more theater in our lives,” said Shire. “I’m still trying to convince people who’ve never walked into a theatre to come and bring their kids because I think they’re gonna be enchanted by this show.”
