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THE FROGS Stephen Sondheim Nathan Lane 14"x22" Original Broadway Window Card
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THE FROGS Stephen Sondheim Nathan Lane 14"x22" Original Broadway Window CardExcerpted
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Frogs
is a musical "freely adapted" by Stephen Sondheim and Burt Shevelove from
The Frogs
, an Ancient Greek comedy by Aristophanes. In the musical, Dionysus, despairing of the quality of living dramatists, travels to Hades to bring George Bernard Shaw back from the dead. William Shakespeare competes with Shaw for the title of best playwright, which he wins. Dionysus brings Shakespeare back to the world of the living in the hope that art can save civilization.
The musical was originally performed in Yale University's gymnasium's swimming pool in 1974.
Meryl Streep, Sigourney Weaver and Christopher Durang all participated in the production's ensemble.
The show was produced on Broadway in 2004 with the book revised by Nathan Lane and the score expanded by Sondheim. This was revived in London in 2017.
Shortly after performing in the concert adaptation, Lane began revising and expanding the show's book into a two-act structure typical of American musicals; the first act was expanded, the second condensed. Lane explained what drew him to expand
The Frogs
: "after September 11 ... I started to think, there's something in this piece right now. ... There's something idealistic about the notion of someone believing that the arts can make a difference. ... I found it moving, in light of what is going on in the world." The new book included indirect references to George W. Bush and the Iraq War.
For the new production, Sondheim wrote seven new songs, including ones that focused on individual characters rather than an ensemble. The Lincoln Center Theater produced the piece, now titled
The Frogs: A New Broadway Musical
, at their Vivian Beaumont Theater on Broadway. The revival, labeled as "even more freely adapted"
by Lane, opened on July 22, 2004, with Lane as Dionysus and Roger Bart as Xanthias. Chris Kattan had co-starred in previews, but was replaced by Bart a week before the show opened.
John Byner, Daniel Davis, Peter Bartlett, Burke Moses, and Michael Siberry appeared in supporting roles. Orchestrations were by Jonathan Tunick and Paul Gemignani was musical director, both longtime collaborators with Sondheim. Susan Stroman both directed and choreographed; costumes were designed by William Ivey Long.
It opened to a mixed critical reception. Most complained that Lane's new plot was "loose", while others noted that the mix of low-brow comedy and high ideals seemed at odds, although others noted that this was what Aristophanes had done. The production closed on October 10, 2004, after 92 performances.
The revival was nominated for three Drama League Awards: Distinguished Production of a Musical (Lincoln Center Theater) and Distinguished performance (Nathan Lane and Roger Bart).