“The Frogs” Big Reveal
A Review Of Drama’s Play And How It Exceeded Expectations
EL Modena Theater Arts’ first play of the year, The Frogs, was a cool dramatic spectacle. The simple and easy-to-follow storytelling with fun pop culture references immersed you into the story.
The first act of The Frogs was very well put together. When we meet our protagonists, Dionysus (Ryan Hutchins) and Xanthius (Freyja Lansdon), their hilarious chemistry is an immediate crowd pleaser.
In the second scene when they meet Charon the Boatman (Cooper Davis), the entire exchange between the three characters is hilarious and fun to follow. Definitely one of the best scenes in this production.
When we are introduced to the frogs (Bree Lara, Alyssa Lopez, Sabrina McWhirter, Savannah McWirter, Kira Ortiz, Bela Reynoso, and Kylie Smith) in the next scene, a rollercoaster of hilarious moments takes place.
The Poisonous Dart Frog (Bela Reynoso) monologue was a lengthy yet interestingly dramatic scene. As she talks about her never ending search for romance and how her one true love is a turtle, the audience is astonished to see Raphael from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles appear on stage confessing his love for her.
The Cane Toad (Savannah McWirter) monologue was very funny and definitely appealed to the crowd. She walks us through her sadness and how she deals with it (by eating kittens), how cars purposefully try to run her over and yell “10 points!” when they do, her dream of getting a jeep to run over people, and her big appearance on Australians Biggest Loser. The audience burst out laughing with every minute of this monologue.
In Act 2 we are introduced to Hades (Elliott Nixon), Persephone (Aspen Perez), Debbie (Sarah Frazier), and a reappearance of the frogs. Debbie was a great comedy relief in this play. When she’s fangirling over Hercules (Xanthius disguised as Hercules) in the first part of her appearance, the audience immediately loved her character.
The battle between the playwrights, Jane Austen (Helen Laton) and Shakespeare (Cooper Davis), was the final act and conclusion to Dionysus’s quest. With the triumphant win from Shakespeare, after 3 minutes of a rushed comedy-parody of Romeo and Juliet, the play ends.
This was an amazing first play of the school year. I am not alone when I say, we can’t wait to see what El Modena Theater Arts does next!
