BWW Interviews: Ryan Malyar in A YEAR WITH FROG AND TOAD at The Growing Stage

The Growing Stage, The Children's Theatre of New Jersey will present A Year with Frog and Toad from April 17th through May 10th. Arnold Lobel's well-loved characters hop from the page to the stage in Robert and Willie Reale's Tony-nominated musical. This whimsical show follows two great friends - the cheerful, popular Frog and the rather grumpy Toad through four, fun-filled seasons. Broadwayworld.com interviewed Ryan Malyar who is playing Frog in the production.

Malyar has been seen in past Growing Stage productions that include The Neverending Story, Miss Nelson is Missing, The Wizard of Oz, Babes in Toyland and Pinkalicious. Other credits include Spongebob Squarepants Live! In Southeast Asia, John Tartaglia's ImaginOcean at the Sydney Opera House, The Radio City Christmas Spectacular on tour and appearances at The Kennedy Center, City Center Encores and Paper Mill Playhouse.

We asked Malyar about his earliest interests in theatre.

Growing up, I was the one who told my parents "I want to be in a show". It was after seeing a production of Peter Pan at a local theater and I was absolutely mesmerized. My mother used to direct the church Christmas Pageants and sing in the choir and my father played guitar. Music was always very important to us.

Arnold Lobel's Frog and Toad stories have become a classic. Do you remember reading or hearing them when you were young?

I actually never read the Frog and Toad stories growing up. The only Toad I knew about was from The Wind in the Willows. I actually just recently played that Toad in "Toad of Toad Hall" at Barnstormers Theater in Tamworth New Hampshire. However, the Amphibians in Frog and Toad and The Wind in the Willows are not at all related, but I think they'd get along just fine.. Having tea and cookies together on the riverbank. I actually have a lot of experience playing animals. Does that go under "Special Skills" on my resume? Right out of college I toured Southeast Asia in "Spongebob Squarepants Live" as Larry the Lobster, and more recently toured the US and performed at Sydney Opera House as a puppeteer in "John Tartaglia's ImaginOcean" a blacklight puppet show where I portrayed Ripple the Seahorse and Leonard the Octopus.

What performances have inspired your career?

Growing up, watching movie musicals I was always the most amused by the musical comedians. Cyril Richard as the campy Captain Hook in Peter Pan, Donald O'Connor in Singing in the Rain, and Danny Kaye in Hans Christian Anderson. These performers really crafted their performances, every blink, twitch and gesture was perfectly timed and accented by the music. The musical score is really an amazing and reliable scene partner and I always try to find those hidden beats and flourishes in the orchestrations to emphasize physically and internally.

Who have been some of your mentors?

My high school drama club director, John Menter, was invaluable in shaping me as a performer. He had such huge expectations and set the bar high for all of the shows at Piscataway High School here in NJ, and he always took big risks in casting and designing the shows. He inspired us and made us feel like professionals. The way he treated us students is something I try to emulate whenever I am working with young adults and especially doing children's theatre. The moment you play down to a child or think they are less than capable of appreciating the art you are creating they will lose interest and probably call you out on it! I set the standard high for myself and then hope that its good enough for the kids seeing the show. They are the biggest critics of all!

Tell us a little about the cast and creative team for A Year with Frog and Toad at the Growing Stage.

Its been marvelous working with Jason Scott Quinn who is playing Toad. He comes from a background in improvisation and comedy and as a result I am always prepared for him to throw something unexpected at me, and I have no fear of surprising him either. The motto of The Growing Stage is "Play, Learn, Grow!" and as a returning actor I can testify that this motto applies to everyone who works here. It is a wonderfully supportive environment to do all of those things and to explore the script with great freedom and creativity without ever feeling criticized or judged. The director Lori Lawrence has been supportive in the process and finds that perfect blend of maintaining a directors vision while allowing the actors to really feel a sense of ownership and pride in the piece they have created together.

What would you like area audiences to know about the production?

I would invite audiences around New Jersey to come and check out the show, even if they don't have children. The show itself was nominated for Tony awards for Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Original Score during its run on Broadway in 2003. The music is infectiously fun and jazzy and the show itself has great throwbacks to Vaudeville. There is a purity in these characters and their friendship that is a pleasant illustration of unselfishness, caring and giving. In our busy lives, so frequently we ask ourselves what personal gain we can achieve by our actions. We all can take a lesson from this odd couple to be kinder and more patient with those was care about.

The Growing Stage, The Children's Theatre of New Jersey is located at 7 Ledgewood Avenue in Netcong, New Jersey 07857. A Year with Frog and Toad will be on stage from April 17th through May 10th. For ticketing and more information, call (973) 347-4946 or visit their web site at http://www.growingstage.com/.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Ryan Malyar.