Press Reviews - Kids Entertainment Inc.

 Frog’s Birthday Reviews Dutch major newspapers, translated Trouw, September 22, 2014 Frog makes your heart melt Family musical Frog’s Birthday (4+) Theater Terra ★★★★ From the speakers, ominous music sounds. It is almost dark. A mysterious lamp flashes around, searching. Fog dances over the stage, into the audience. Toddler’s hands go up and try to grasp the clouds. Most likely, they would like to wave away all of the fog, because their big hero, Frog, is walking around the forest without his friends for a while, and now he might get lost in the mist. Frog’s Birthday. That’s Frog from the beautiful children’s picture books by Max Velthuijs. 25 Years ago, the first Frog book was published. So it’s time for a celebration: Theater Terra, internationally successful for more than ten years with shows based on Frog, has created their own version of ‘Frog’s Birthday’. And so we see a story of a merrily Frog, who gets less and less happier at first, because he thinks that his friends Hare, Duck and Piggy have forgotten his birthday. While the three friends organize a surprise party, the sad birthday boy walks into the world to find new friends, that won’t forget his birthday. Theater Terra is great at creating subtle melancholy. The script and lyrics (Dick Feld) are simple but not simplistic, have humor (Piggy keeps yelling ‘Surprise!’ to early, to hilarity with the children). The music (Nick Bult) isn’t in the foreground, but has nice melancholic melody lines, without being sentimental. When Frog ends up in a bird’s nest and a newborn bird thinks he is it’s mother, Frog sings véry sweet and fragile: “Come on, brave little child”, to help the little bird fly. So much, that it makes your heart melt. The greatest part is the set design (Theo Terra). The very strong cast moves the touchingly moving puppets. And the known trick by Theater Terra works again: Frog walks away from his little house, painted on a hill, on the front of the stage. As he walks towards the audience, the set piece disappears off stage, after that, a smaller hill with Frog’s house appears. It’s a living perspective set, that keeps repeating, until we see a very small hill, with a very small house, far away. Frog is looking back, a little sad. We sigh with him and feel his loneliness without friends, there are no words needed here. Happily, the show ends with a big party, after Frog is reunited with all his friends. And all the children in the audience can help surprise Frog for his birthday. Bianca Bartels De Telegraaf, September 22, 2014 ‘Frog’s Birthday’ is a party Dikkie Dik, Woezel & Pip, Bumba, Floddertje: the favorite heroes of the very young ones will come to life this season in the theatre. Frog is also present, with his friends Hare, Duck and Piggy in the children’s musical ‘Frog’s Birthday’. Esther Kleuver This is not the first time for Theater Terra to bring to life the creation of children’s literature by Max Velthuijs in the theatre. Because of the previous productions by the company: Frog (2003), Frog in the clouds (2006) and Frog & Friends (2009), the successful formula had already been found. In Frog’s Birthday (4+), we can see Frog starting his day very happy, because it is his birthday. But it looks like all of his friends have forgotten about his birthday. The story is easy to follow for the very young ones. The puppeteers, previously dressed all in black, appear somewhat more in the foreground this time, giving the puppets an extra dimension with their expressions. This way, Wesley de Ridder creates a heartwarming Frog with all his ups and downs, Babbe Groenhagen is a sympathetic Hare with her characteristic voice, Dick Feld creates a funny silly Piggy and Dide Vonk performs nice as Duck. With the good looking puppets, true to the original, by Kathelijne Monnens, the inventive and poetic set design by Theo Terra, the clear script by Dick Feld and the pleasant music by Nick Bult, Theater Terra again achieved to make a playful celebration of ‘Frog’s Birthday’. And by producing a new Frog show every several years, new generations of children can enjoy the adventures of their green little friend in the theatre. ★★★★