Horizon Performing Arts Invited A Toad & Frog Onto Their Stage

Photo: “The Birds” – (Frankie McElroy, Maggie Trevisan, Maddox Rice, Alana Jefferson, Camille Wenger). Photo by Lad Strayer.

Horizon Performing Arts is a local community theatre, based in Ypsilanti, which emphasizes teaching and allowing children to experience the magic of theatre. They concluded their first production of their 2025-26 season with A Year With Frog and Toad at the Riverside Arts Center in downtown Ypsilanti.

Horizon’s production featured a simple presentation. Simple sets. Simple costumes, A music track and basic lighting and effects. What they excelled at was providing a cast of fourth – eighth graders an opportunity to sing and dance in front of a sold-out house on Sunday afternoon. And, from the smiles on the faces of the kids, they succeeded.

Audiences know what they signed up for when buying a ticket for a youth performance. And this reviewer found it all just delightful. You couldn’t help but smile watching the fourth graders doing their best trying to remember the lyrics of the song they were singing and the dance steps. At times, their voices grew softer as they concentrated on getting their dance steps right. It was that kind of fun that made the afternoon a joy to watch.

Caroline “Cici” Hubbard, a sixth grader from Chelsea, had the lead role of Frog. Fresh from her starring role as Annie at the Croswell Opera House in June, her voice shined singing songs such as “A Year With Frog & Toad,” “Alone,” “The Kite” and “Merry Almost Christmas.” Frog’s best friend was Toad, played by Michael Radesky, a seventh grader. Michael showed off his vocal range singing “Seeds,” “He’ll Never Kow” and “Toad To The Rescue.”

Charlotte Teall-Beaver made the most of her role as Snail. Watching her scurry across the stage in snail-like slow motion got laughs from the audience each time. Charlotte was able to show off her singing voice as Snail got to sing “The Letter #1, #2, #3 and #4. She gave the Snail personality that was fun to watch.

The wonderful thing about A Year With Frog & Toad is that all the smaller roles had opportunities to sing in a variety of numbers. The audience was treated to watching The Birds (Frankie McElroy, Maggie Trevisan, Maddox Rice, Alana Jefferson and Camille Wenger), the Mouse (Sloane Jackson), Turtle (Genevieve Meurer, the Squirrels/Moles (Rebecca Meurer & Willa Hladky), Father Frog (Dagny McVeigh), Mother Frog (Drew Meurer) and the Large and Terrible Frog (Drew Meurer).

A Year With Frog and Toad was directed by Connor Thomas Rhoades, music direction by Michelle Smith and choreography by Alyssa Rae Thomas. Future production for Horizon includes Merrily We Roll Along in March 2026, Disney’s Frozen Jr, in June and Urinetown concluding the season in August.

In youth theatre, you accept that as young actors are learning their lines, songs and dance steps, perfection is measured more by how much fun they are having than by hitting every note or remembering every cue. As I was leaving the theatre, watching the young thespians greet their family and friends, I thought that every star of Broadway, every Audra McDonald, Bernadette Peters and Lyn Manual-Miranda, all started somewhere. Most likely in a community theatre, playing a role such as Frog or Toad.