Amphibian Antics

A good kids’ play or musical often meets greater approval from parents than from children—perhaps because their appreciation is mingled with a sense of relieved gratitude. First Stage’s production of A Year with Frog and Toad goes further than most in wooing adults as well as their offspring. The musical, like the stories on which it’s based, evokes a nostalgia that’s free of cloying sentiment or honeyed charm. The characters, basking in their sylvan idyll, are homely creatures whose lives are dictated by the reassuring cycle of seasons . . .