A Year With Frog and Toad will be presented December 14 – 23, 2007 -Fridays and Saturdays @ 7:30 PM and Sundays @ 2 PM at the Pike Performing Arts Center, 6701 Zionsville Road, Indianapolis, IN 46268. Tickets are $20 for adults and seniors and $10 for children and may be purchased by either calling the Pike Box Office at 317- 216-5455 or online at www.pikepac.org .

Opening this Friday December 14 is a musical that is destined to become a holiday tradition - Actors Theatre of Indiana's production of A YEAR WITH FROG AND TOAD!

Arnold Lobel's well-loved characters hop from the page to the stage in Robert and Willie Reale's musical A Year With Frog And Toad. Conceived by Mr. Lobel's daughter, Adrianne Lobel, A Year With Frog And Toad remains true to the spirit of the original stories as it follows two great friends, the cheerful and popular Frog and the rather grumpy Toad through four fun-filled seasons. Waking from hibernation in the spring, they proceed to plant gardens, swim, rake leaves and go sledding, learning life lessons along the way, including a most important one about friendship and rejoicing in the attributes that make each of us different and special.

The story of A YEAR WITH FROG AND TOAD begins in 1970, when Arnold Lobel's classic book Frog and Toad are Friends was first published. Lobel received a Caldecott Honor award, and went on to publish three additional volumes of Frog and Toad adventures. In 1973, Frog and Toad Together was named a Newbery Honor book, making Lobel one of only a handful of authors to have received honor citations from both of children's literature's highest awards.

In 2002, Adrianne Lobel, the author's daughter, and a successful designer and producer in her own right, commissioned a musical based on her father's most beloved characters. A YEAR WITH FROG AND TOAD, which incorporates stories from all four books, premiered at the Children's Theater Company of Minneapolis on August 23, 2002. The next stop was the off-Broadway New Victory Theater, specializing solely in family-oriented fare. After stellar reviews and a sold out run, the show transferred to Broadway, where it opened at the Cort Theater on April 13, 2003. A YEAR WITH FROG AND TOAD received three Tony nominations, including Best Musical. A YEAR WITH FROG AND TOAD promises to be the holiday's biggest family-oriented production ever as Actors Theatre of Indiana continues its successful 3rd season of professional theatre and arts education in the Central Indiana area.

ATI Artistic Director / Co-Founder Judy Fitzgerald directs, ATI Resident Choreographer / Co-Founder Cynthia Collins choreographs, and ATI Music Director Terry Woods conducts this stellar cast which stars Bradley Reynolds as "Frog", Don Farrell as "Toad", Jon Lambert as "Snail", Kyra Jeanne Kenyon as "Turtle", and Heather Bonahoom as "Mouse".

The production will be presented December 14 - 23, 2007 -Fridays and Saturdays @ 7:30 PM and Sundays @ 2 PM at the Pike Performing Arts Center, 6701 Zionsville Road, Indianapolis, IN 46268. Tickets are $20 for adults and seniors and $10 for children and may be purchased by either calling the Pike Box Office at 317- 216-5455 or online at www.pikepac.org .

Actors Theatre of Indiana is Central Indiana's newest professional equity theatre company. For more information, call us at 317-669-7983 or visit our website at www.actorstheatreofindiana.org