{"id":25926,"date":"2015-11-10T09:45:39","date_gmt":"2015-11-10T14:45:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=25926"},"modified":"2015-12-07T10:08:18","modified_gmt":"2015-12-07T15:08:18","slug":"winsome-creatures-from-appalachia-take-the-stage-in-tony-nominated-musical-a-year-with-frog-and-toad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2015\/winsome-creatures-from-appalachia-take-the-stage-in-tony-nominated-musical-a-year-with-frog-and-toad\/","title":{"rendered":"Winsome creatures from Appalachia take the stage in Tony-nominated musical ‘A Year with Frog and Toad’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Singing and dancing animals in Eastern Mennonite University\u2019s MainStage Theater? A fly fishing frog and toad, an Appalachian Trail-hiking snail and mining moles? A community of critters showing how delightful life can be when you have a best bud? What are those theater folks up to now?<\/p>\n

\"Frog<\/a>
Actors in “A Year with Frog and Toad”: from left, Zoe Parakuo as Mouse, Bianica Baker as Bird, Christian Parks as Toad, Hailey Holcomb as Squirrel, and Ezrionna Prioleau as Snail. (Courtesy photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Tony-nominated Broadway musical \u201cA Year with Frog and Toad\u201d is based on author\/illustrator Arnold Lobel\u2019s \u201cFrog and Toad\u201d children\u2019s book series. The musical, directed by professor Heidi Winters Vogel<\/a> opens Nov. 20. Additional performances are Nov. 21 and Dec. 3, 4 and 5 at 7:30 p.m. with matinees Nov. 22 and Dec. 5 at 3 p.m. Tickets can be purchased through the EMU box office at 540-432-4582 or\u00a0emu.edu\/box-office\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur production\u00a0is set here in the Shenandoah Valley and the animals are the kind you would find in the woods and ditches right here in western Virginia,\u201d says Vogel. Her vision was to have the actors portray human characters with animal qualities instead of being in animal costumes. \u201cThe actors have studied the way the animals move and are using that in their portrayals. Also, the characters reflect folks you might meet here too.\u201d<\/p>\n

For history major Derrick Turner, assistant director and dramaturg, the show brings back memories. \u201cI loved those books. My mom read them to me when I was a child.\u201d<\/p>\n

To spark the actors\u2019 imaginations, Turner conducted extensive research with EMU professor and conservation photographer Steven Johnson<\/a>. He then compiled movement videos and information on each portrayed animal for the actors, including habitat, food and skeletal structures.<\/p>\n

EMU hasn\u2019t done a children\u2019s play in at least a decade, Vogel says, but the play meets the theater department<\/a>‘s educational goals. \u201cTheater for Young Audiences (TYA) is a hugely important genre of theater that our students should have experience performing and producing. Children are a different audience than adults.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cast will perform three additional matinees for students from six local schools and three home school groups, says Turner, who made study packets accessible for K-5 grades.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdults are much more well-behaved, but I find performing for children is a much more interactive experience,\u201d says actor Josh Helmuth, a music composition major who performed for elementary students while in high school.<\/p>\n

Helmuth portrays four animals, including a showy bird and a straight and narrow lizard. \u201cYeah, I don\u2019t get a break,\u201d he says, smiling.<\/p>\n

Playing animals has never been a favorite role for English and theater double-major Makayla Baker. \u201cI don\u2019t like when people portray animals. It\u2019s so weird. But here I am\u2014I\u2019m a turtle,\u201d she deadpans. \u201cBut it\u2019s been great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baker\u2019s turtle is a laundry woman carrying a basket on her back and a scrub board around her neck.<\/p>\n

Myriam Aziz, a graduate student in the master\u2019s conflict transformation program, was cast as Frog. \u201cA female playing a part for a male, I think that\u2019s really funny,\u201d says Aziz, who is active in theater in Lebanon. But having a male as a pal, she says, \u201creminds me of my friend back home. We\u2019ve been friends for 13 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cast and crew agree that even though \u201cA Year With Frog and Toad\u201d is based on a children\u2019s book series, adults will also appreciate the cheerful upbeat musical.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of comedic effect in it,\u201d Helmuth says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is funny,\u201d says Baker, noting that the EMU community is inviting younger family members and people from their church to the show. \u201cA lot of EMU students were raised on these books.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cast<\/h3>\n

Myriam Aziz, Christian Parks, Ezrionna Prioleau, Bianica Baker, Esther Ajayi, Josh Helmuth, Makayla Baker, Zoe Parakuo, Hailey Holcomb<\/p>\n

Crew<\/h3>\n

Director \u2013 Heidi Winters Vogel
\nChoreographer and Costume Designer – Holly Labbe<\/a>
\nAccompanist \u2013 Jim Clemens
\nStage Manager – Caitlin Randazzo
\nAssistant Stage Managers – Lydia Hales and Belen Fernandez
\nProps Designers – Alex Rosenberg and Kevin Clark
\nAssistant Lighting Designer – Sierra Comer
\nAssistant Director and Dramaturg – Derrick Turner
\nMusic Director – Matt Hunsberger<\/a>
\nSet Designer – Phil Grayson<\/a>
\nLighting Designer – David Vogel<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Singing and dancing animals in Eastern Mennonite University\u2019s MainStage Theater? A fly fishing frog and toad, an Appalachian Trail-hiking snail and mining moles? A community of critters showing how delightful ... read more about Winsome creatures from Appalachia take the stage in Tony-nominated musical ‘A Year with Frog and Toad’<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25941,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7931,5147],"tags":[16870,17099,14712,17094,17095,17102,15377,17104,9152,16868,17100,7153,14602,7259,17054,8552,16323],"feature":[],"class_list":["post-25926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts","category-theater","tag-belen-fernandez","tag-caitlin-randazzo","tag-christian-parks","tag-david-vogel","tag-derrick-turner","tag-esther-ajayi","tag-ezrionna-prioleau","tag-hailey-holcomb","tag-heidi-winters-vogel","tag-holly-labbe","tag-jim-clemens","tag-kevin-clark","tag-makayla-baker","tag-matt-hunsberger","tag-myriam-aziz","tag-phil-grayson","tag-zoe-parakuo"],"yoast_head":"\nWinsome creatures from Appalachia take the stage in Tony-nominated musical 'A Year with Frog and Toad' - EMU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2015\/winsome-creatures-from-appalachia-take-the-stage-in-tony-nominated-musical-a-year-with-frog-and-toad\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Winsome creatures from Appalachia take the stage in Tony-nominated musical 'A Year with Frog and Toad' - EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Singing and dancing animals in Eastern Mennonite University\u2019s MainStage Theater? 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