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Friday Happenings
Bostonist was invited to attend the return performance of Frogz! at the Cutler Majestic theatre this week, and we are here to tell you that this is the sort of show that you should not miss.
As children (and adults,) Bostonist loved the Muppets and especially their occasional guests Mummenshanz. Frogz is reminiscent of both of these, with extremely talented dancer/puppeteers transforming their bodies into animals and anthropomorpic objects with grace and humor.
The show is broken into a series of vignettes, each starring its own variety of creatures. The five-member troupe flows in and out of each scene, changing costumes so fluidly that it sometimes seems as if there are far more performers and/or creatures onstage.
It's hard to pick out favorites from a show that was so thoroughly entertaining from beginning to end - but here are some highlights:
The frogs, which open the show are just stunning. They are funny (a child behind us exclaimed "Silly Frogs!"), beautiful, and most of all - convincing. It was amazing to see three human-sized frogs onstage seeming far more animal than human. The alligators and lizards which followed had a similar feel - a bit darker (and ever so slightly scary for our 5-year-old companion) but still very animal-like.
Other highlights included the musical-chairs-playing penguins, a mummenshanz-esque paper-faced cowboy and amazingly beautiful glowing/floating strings (a difficult segment to describe - glowing strings float and oscillate in midair.)
Our only real complaints were that the performers were at their mostcompelling and convincing when portraying animals or objects - the two segments that featured them as humans - Paper and Bows + Arrows were by far the weakest of the evening. The broad movements that worked so beautifully for the animals seemed contrived without the costumes. (The flying confetti and streamer "arrows" shot from the bows were gorgeous though.) A few segments stretched on a little bit long as well.
Bostonist's 5-year-old companion had a few comments of her own. She was frightened by a segment featuring a cat trapped in a paper bag. (It took a bit of explaining before she understood that it was a person pretending to be a cat, pretending to be trapped.) Aside from this and a few other moments deemed "a little bit scary" she felt that the show was very kid-appropriate. Her favorite moments mirrored ours - the frogs and penguins especially.
All in all, a hearty Bostonist recommendation for this show - it's one of the rare "all ages" shows that really does appeal on many levels to children and adults alike without making compromises for either.
Frogz! runs May 31-June 3 at the Cutler Majestic Theatre in Boston - go see it!
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