Actor Jay Goede originated the role of Frog in the musical “A Year with Frog and Toad” at Children’s Theatre Company in 2002 and then on Broadway, and was set to reprise the role this spring at CTC.
So why did he quit the production two days before opening night?
From day one of rehearsal, he wrote in a Facebook post, “this was a nightmare of an experience.” He praised his castmates and the crew, but suggested the show’s director — outgoing CTC artistic director Peter Brosius — made the behind-the-scenes environment “a literal disaster.”
Goede did not share more specifics in the post and did not return an interview request Tuesday or Wednesday. CTC declined to comment; a spokesperson said the theater “cannot and does not comment on confidential personnel matters.”
“Don’t try to revisit things you did in the past that you’re really proud of and that were magical, let them remain cherished memories,” Goede wrote in the Facebook post.
John-Michael Zuerlein, understudy for the role of Frog, will play the part for the duration of the production, which opened at the end of April and runs through June 16.
Children’s Theatre Company artistic director Peter Brosius has announced he will leave the theater at the end of its 2023-24 season. (Dan Norman / Children’s Theatre Company)
Brosius, who took on the top creative post at CTC in 1997, helped the theater land the production rights to “A Year with Frog and Toad” for the 2002 show, but did not direct it. The current production is Brosius’ first time directing “Frog and Toad.”
After the musical premiered at CTC, it moved to Broadway in 2003, becoming the first show originally produced by a Twin Cities theater to advance to a full New York City production. Most of the original CTC cast, including Goede as Frog, continued their roles on Broadway, and the show was nominated for several Tony awards.
Another interesting tidbit: For that 2002 CTC show, Goede himself landed the role of Frog in a surprise replacement. The original actor left the cast before rehearsals began to care for an ill family member, the Pioneer Press noted at the time.
As for the 2024 production, “the show goes on” — and remains quite successful — in Goede’s absence, our reviewer Rob Hubbard wrote.
This summer was already poised to be a season of change for Children’s Theatre Company: Brosius’s successor as artistic director, Rick Dildine, takes over on July 1, and incoming managing director Jill A. Anderson starts three weeks later.
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