A YEAR WITH FROG AND TOAD opens tonight!

As we prepare to open A Year With Frog and Toad in less than two hours, Artistic Director Carl Forsman muses on his history with musical theater:

I have directed or produced about fifty plays professionally, but A YEAR WITH FROG AND TOAD is my first musical comedy. And it has been a definite adventure, with so many new things to consider.

Well, new in a sense. Like so many theater artists, musicals were my introduction to the theater. My parents met doing Cole Porter's CAN-CAN in college. I saw GODSPELL on Broadway when I was in elementary school. I was in GUYS AND DOLLS in junior high, and was in OKLAHOMA my senior year of high school. I grew up listening to my parents cast albums, and my mom directed the musicals at the high school she worked at. So there is a base of knowledge about the genre that I have - like so many people.

It's really fun to get back to musical theater now after so many years. And this production embraces plenty of things that are traditionally associated with the form: Spotlights. Footlights. A pit for the band. Cookies on bungie cords. Wait, what? Oh, drat, that's supposed to be a secret. You see, there are a few twists we've put on things. But to find out the rest, you'll have to come join us for A YEAR WITH FROG AND TOAD. Like I remember, you walk out humming the tunes and with a smile on your face. Some things never change.

On Wednesday, the FROG AND TOAD cast performed on the Manchester Town Green as part of "Life after Dark." They sang the opening of the show "A Year with Frog and Toad."



Then, Jeff Edgerton, who plays Frog, sang a song about being happy being alone, called “Alone.”



Finally, James Donegan sang his celebration of being a postman, “I’m Coming Out of My Shell.”

~Sarah Gasser, Production Intern
Photos by Denise Blacker

Frog and Toad (and Snail, Turtle, and Mouse) hit the road!

We still have one more week of performances for THE DINING ROOM (If you haven't seen it yet, don't miss out on this gorgeous production of A.R. Gurney's hilarious play. Click here and here to read our rave reviews!), but the cast and crew of FROG AND TOAD is already hard at work.

AND, best of all, they're ready to show off!

Catch a sneak peak of this fun and heartwarming family musical TOMORROW at 6pm on the Town Green in Manchester. Our cast will be performing three songs from the show as part of the Greater Manchester Arts Council's "Life After Dark" program.

Or, if cocktails and dinner at Hildene is more your style, there are still a few tickets available for SUMMER SWING, DTF's biennial fundraiser, featuring cocktails, dinner, dancing, live- and silent-auctions, and more performances by the Frog and Toad cast. For tickets or more information, email summerswing@earthlink.net or call 802-867-9801.

Finally, don't forget to buy your tickets to THE DINING ROOM and FROG AND TOAD, by clicking here or visiting our box office at the Playhouse!

Hope to see you soon, on the Green, at Hildene, or at the Playhouse!

The Glens Falls Post-Star loves THE DINING ROOM

Click here to read Bob Rose's rave review!

THE DINING ROOM is a hit!

From Artistic Director Carl Forsman:

I am so thrilled to have our production of The Dining Room open! It's the kind of theater I like the best - filled with humanity and humor. What makes it work is the great range and versatility of our acting company. The six actors play more than thirty roles, all of them very different. I have a few favorites, I confess. I think Virginia Kull is very effective as Aggie, the Irish maid who has to tell the boy who loves her that she is moving on from domestic service, with a mix of resignation and frustration. Another is Sara Surrey's Mother, a stylish, socially-conscious 50s housewife who is trying to raise her daughter the "right" way; Ann McDonough is hilarious in the same scene as a twelve year old girl suffering her mother's ideas. Everyone loves Frank Deal's Brewster, a six year old party guest who is completely overwhelmed. Among Mark Sullivan's many characters, I am particularly fond of Standish, the father responding to a family crisis in the most serious manner, with all the authority he can muster. And I adore Tim McCracken's second act Dad, a conventional father trying to understand and negotiate his unconventional daughter. But these are just my favorites - you'll have to join us in the next two weeks and tell me yours!

l to r: Virginia Kull, Sara Surrey,
Frank Deal, Timothy McCracken,
Ann McDonough, and Mark J. Sullivan











Frank Deal,
Mark J. Sullivan,
and Virginia Kull












Ann McDonough
and Timothy McCracken





All photos by Harry Lee.