FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 24, 2005
Contact: Anika Mitchell Perkins
(662) 329-7124

MUW to present Tony-award winning musical `A Year With Frog and Toad'
 
COLUMBUS, Miss. – The Department of Music and Theatre at Mississippi University for Women will present the Tony-award winning musical “A Year With Frog and Toad” Oct. 28-30.
   
Performances will be in Rent Auditorium Whitfield Hall on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Sunday’s performance will be a matinee beginning at 2 p.m. A special Thursday night performance will be held on Nov. 3 at 8 p.m. as part of the American College Theatre Festival.
   
The musical is based on the children’s book series by Arnold Lobel and highlights four seasons of friendship with cheerful Frog and worrisome Toad.
   
Set designer David Carter said, “It has been challenging and rewarding to try and replicate the look of the book onto the stage.”
   
Director William “Peppy” Biddy said the musical is, “delightful fun for the whole family and follows in the MUW tradition of presenting full scale productions for young audiences.”
   
According to Biddy, the MUW theater has obtained the rights for “A Year With Frog and Toad” at the same time as most professional theaters, since the play was still on Broadway a year and a half ago, and allows the community an opportunity to see new theater without going out of town.
   
The cast includes Chad Fortenberry of Grenada as Frog and Owen Sullivan of Diamondhead as Toad. Adding to the fun in Frog and Toad’s adventures are Turtle (Patricia Talavera of Picayune), Snail (Chris Cunningham of Berry, Ala.), birds (Elizabeth Adams of Indianola, Margaret Coleman of Gulfport and Michael McCalla of Columbus), Lizard (A.J. Correro of Greenville), Mice (Noel McCann of Gautier and Brenda Mayo Starkville), Squirrels (Rick Baldwin and Correro), Mother Frog (Brooklyn Walls of Pontotoc), Father Frog (McCalla), Young Frog (McCann), The Large and Terrible Frog (Baldwin) and moles (Mayo and Melissa Werner of Gautier).  
   
Tickets will be $5 and can be purchased at the door. For more information, call (662) 329-7341.