A Year with Frog and Toad

On October 17th and 18th over 450 kindergarten through 3rd grade students from Allegany-Limestone, Bolivar Richburg, Fillmore, Olean, and Portville school districts attended performances of the musical “A Year with Frog & Toad,” presented by the Palmer Opera House in Cuba, NY.
The musical, written by brothers Robert (music) and Willie (book and lyrics) Reale, is an adaptation of the popular easy reader “Frog and Toad” children's book series, written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel. Set over the course of one year, the musical follows the woodland adventures of two amphibious friends, a worrywart toad and a perky frog, along with their assorted colorful hopping, crawling, and flying companions.
Students had an immersive theatre experience as they played “Marco-Polo” to help Toad locate Frog across the pond, listened to a scary story during a thunderstorm, were dusted with snow during a runaway toboggan run, and cheered on Snail as he attempted to deliver a letter from Frog to Toad throughout the performance. During intermission, members of the ensemble taught students “The Cookie Dance,” and the Palmer Opera House also distributed goodie bags of friendship bracelets, bookmarks, and autographs from each of the character actors to every student who attended.

In preparation for the musical, participating teachers were offered pre-lesson activities on theatre etiquette, comparing literature adaptations across art forms, and designing and illustrating a "What Happens Next" story book to continue the adventures of the “Frog and Toad” characters. They were also provided with a post lesson opportunity for their students to compose a letter or drawing that could be sent as “snail mail” to their favorite character. All offerings focused on Arts integration within the classroom curriculum, connecting New York State Next Generation English Language Arts Standards with Learning Standards for the Arts in Visual Arts and Theater.
The Palmer Opera House and Cattaraugus-Allegany BOCES were recognized by the Theatre Association of New York State with an award for Outstanding Achievement in Theater Education for their “efforts in creating a foundation for children in the area to build a lasting partnership with the performing arts.”
By: Sean Conklin, Coordinator for Arts Integration and Extracurricular Events