Family Friendly Musical Hits the GJHS Stage

GJHS Drama Productions presents A Year with Frog and Toad.

Almost every little kid has heard the story of A Year with Frog and Toad. Through the weekend of February 23rd to February 25th, the stories we all loved when we were younger were brought to life through the hard work of the GJHS Drama department.

The musical starred Hunter Mendoza as Toad and Jarrett Basham as Frog and told many tales of Frog and Toad, spending their year together, along with help from many of their friends. The musical was student directed by Nahi Luzena and was put together in around three weeks after GJHS Drama Department teacher Shawn Clingman, sadly had to step down for this musical. The musical also featured the help of the GJHS Band, which played live music throughout the show, which added to the quality of the play.

Mendoza and Basham portrayed Frog and Toad as two best friends

Shannon Clark
Left to Right: Frog(Basham) gives mail for Snail(Kirtland) to deliver.

who spend their time making cookies, swimming, going sledding, and even more. The show was family friendly, as it offered age appropriate humor that all could enjoy such as the crowd favorite, the Snail who delivers mail. The Snail was played by Joey Kirtland, who sang about his journey to deliver mail.

The show also starred the Birds who brought along sarcasm as they laughed and often mocked Frog and Toad, but they also helped to enhance the show as all of the birds showcased their talented voices. The costumes were detailed and each bird had a specific color that helped the audience to clearly see the difference between each of the birds.

Shannon Clark
The Birds deliver another excellent song.

All of the costumes throughout the show were made to meet the needs of each character, and to help the actors accurately play their character.

Overall, A Year with Frog and Toad was a must see for any new or old fan of the childhood books. The amount of work and effort that went into putting on this show in only three weeks is very impressive, and the GJHS Drama Department is sure to deliver more crowd-pleasing hits in the future.