A Year with Frog and Toad

Last Saturday, I took the boys to the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville to see a play there for the first time. We had been given free tickets to attend the play through Hudson's participation in the H.I.P.P.Y program. This musical was originally a Broadway show that was based upon the children's books about two characters named Frog and Toad. Frog is the happy, upbeat, organized friend, while Toad seems to be grumpy and worried about everything (think "The Odd Couple"). The differences in their personalities make for a lot of humorous events!

Owen and I had seen this play at the Arkansas Children's Theater in Little Rock several years ago, and we had really enjoyed it. However, this was the first time that Hudson had been to a full-length theater production. The Walton Arts Center was amazing, and this version of the play was much more professional than the one I had seen previously (though it was good too). This version completely amazed me, and I would have seen it again, if it hadn't been the final day of the play before the tour left. The actors were professional, New York City trained performers with degrees from places like NYU and the Boston Conservatory. The show included scenes that were not included in the smaller show I'd seen in Little Rock, and the actors were very impressive in their musical and dancing abilities. In fact, we all liked the musical score so much that I just ordered a copy of the CD from the original Broadway version this week, and it should arrive in a few days.

I'm looking forward to singing along with the boys in the car and learning all the rest of the lines! If you ever hear of this play in your town, you really need to take your kids! It was wonderful!

The next production I'm looking forward to is Grease which will also be at the Walton Arts Center in May. I think Owen and I will be attending that one since it's a bit too mature for Hudson, and Owen acted in a short production from Grease at a drama camp. These tickets are a bit pricey, or we might all go. I'm so glad that my children are already loving theater like I do!