JOURNAL ARTS REPORTER

With the musical A Year With Frog and Toad, the Theatre Alliance is presenting short, sweet and high-energy entertainment that the whole family can enjoy, even children as young as 4.

The show, written by brothers Robert and Willie Reale, opened last night in Dunn Auditorium at the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art. It dramatizes the stories in Arnold Lobel's beloved Frog and Toad books for young children in one song-filled vignette after another. Director Jamie Lawson's staging keeps things moving along with child-friendly swiftness.

The scenes begin in spring and end in winter, just in time for hibernation. They take Frog (Tim Brown) and Toad (Mark Armstrong) through a variety of adventures: planting seeds, flying a kite, sampling one too many cookies before dinner and sledding down a hill. Armstrong makes his finest mark as a comic. Brown distinguishes himself in ways that are often more serious.

Along the way we meet a fine trio of actors consisting of Gray Smith, Cheri Van Loon and Emily Mark. They play a variety of creatures, including moles, lizards, mice and squirrels. They sing, tap-dance and often needle Toad (no, that bathing suit does not become him). Smith delights the crowd with his portrayal of the snail carrying the mail to Toad, who has never before received a letter. His two sidekicks sing and tap-dance with aplomb.

The understated goal of all this is to suggest the importance of certain virtues, such as patience, tolerance, confidence, courage, determination and loyalty. The more-obvious purpose is to keep everyone laughing - or on the edge of their seats in anticipation of what will come next.

And what comes next includes everything from a water ballet with bubbles falling from the ceiling to a Large and Terrible Frog, who makes an entrance by popping his rather large head through one of the lobby doors. Trust me, parents: Your kids will eat it up, and I mean that literally.

The sets look cute, and the costumes are zany (be on the look out for heads with turtle shells on them). The props are, well, creative: At one point, a toilet plunger is transformed into a paddle.

Unfortunately, the sound system frequently malfunctioned last night, causing sometimes-thunderous explosions of static to intrude on the proceedings. All in all, though, Theatre Alliance's Frog and Toad is a wonderful show. I can't think of a better way to introduce young kids to the wonders of live theater.

• Theatre Alliance will present A Year With Frog and Toad through June 18 in Dunn Auditorium at the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art. Shows will be at 8 p.m. today and June 15-17. Matinees will be at 2 p.m. Sunday and June 18. Tickets are $16 for general admission, $14 for seniors and students and $10 for children ages 12 and under. For more information, call 768-5655.

• Ken Keuffel can be reached at 727-7337 or at kkeuffel@wsjournal.com