The Frogs

Fall Musical 2021

Dear Frogs Parents,

We are so excited to finally have the opportunity to offer our young thespians and the greater MDI community the opportunity to participate in live musical theater (knock on wood). It has been a long, strange trip that sadly hasn't come to an end yet, but even writing this email fills me with the hope that maybe that end isn't too far off.

I need to ask for your assistance with this process by signing up for volunteer positions essential to the production. Although the list is much shorter than in the past (e.g. no concessions baking or sales and no backstage chaperones/makeup volunteers), our need is just as critical.

Please sign up for as many volunteer slots as you are willing and able to fulfill. The best part: volunteers earn one complimentary show ticket for each volunteer job they complete.

A few details: Ticket sales for this musical will look much different than in the past but will also be much simpler. We are planning to offer 200* general admission tickets for purchase for each performance and patrons will be able to arrive thirty minutes before the opening curtain and select their own seats. More info is available (with more forthcoming) on The Frogs production page on the new MDI Drama website.

Usher volunteers will hand out programs and remind patrons to keep their masks on and their personal electronics off, but they will not have to help them locate reserved seats as in the past.

Thank you!

Casey Rush

The Frogs

A COMEDY WRITTEN IN 405 B.C. by Aristophanes

FREELY ADAPTED by Burt Shevelove

EVEN MORE FREELY ADAPTED by Nathan Lane

MUSIC & LYRICS by Stephen Sondheim

"The Frogs...was first freely adapted from Aristophanes' ancient comedy by Burt Shevelove in 1974, The Frogs was even more freely adapted by Nathan Lane, who also headed a cast of twenty-eight actors, singers and dancers [at Lincoln Center in 2004]."

"This boisterously hilarious yet poignant musical follows Dionysos, Greek god of wine and drama, and his slave Xanthias on a journey to Hades to bring back an extraordinary writer who, by providing words of wit and wisdom, will help save mankind from destruction."

"The history of The Frogs spans many years (if not centuries!). Shevelove's adaptation of the play was first performed at Yale in 1941. Then, over thirty years later, Sondheim wrote several songs for the show, and his and Shevelove's adaptation of The Frogs premiered in 1974 featuring students of the Yale Drama School in a university swimming pool. Another thirty years later, after appearing in a concert of the rarely performed Sondheim score in 2000, Lane, having already persuaded [director/choreographer Susan] Stroman to join the project, approached the composer/lyricist with the idea of further adapting the show into a full-length work, switching the setting from a swimming pool to the Beaumont stage."

"There's something in this piece right now - where the country is and for me in particular - there's something idealistic about the notion of believing that the arts can make a difference. You can affect a change. And in The Frogs, that is Dionysos' dream - to go down to Hades and bring back this great writer. The belief that that could actually have an effect on the world is noble and touching and crazy - all at the same time." -- Nathan Lane

Information from <https://www.lct.org/shows/the-frogs/>:

Ticket Details

• We will offer 200 general admission tickets for each performance of this production (half capacity).

• Ticket prices are $10 for adults and $8 for seniors and students.

• The house will open thirty minutes before the curtain.

  • 6:30 for evening performances, 1:30 for matinee performances

• Patrons are required to wear a mask at all times while in attendance at performances. There will be no concessions sales or food or drinks allowed in the theater.

• Patrons will be allowed to sit where they choose in the theater, keeping in mind that maintaining distance between parties is recommended.

Day of Show Ticket Sales

Tickets are available for purchase one hour before showtime at the main office entrance:

• Friday 11/12 - 6-7pm (curtain @ 7pm)

• Saturday 11/13 - 6-7pm (curtain @ 7pm)

• Sunday 11/14 - 1-2pm (curtain @ 2pm

• Friday 11/19 - 6-7pm (curtain @ 7pm)

• Saturday 11/20 - 1-2pm (curtain @ 2pm)

• Saturday 11/20 - 6-7pm (curtain @ 7pm)