FANTASTIC FROGGY
Jennifer Haley’s audacious graphic novel Froggy comes roaring to life on the Margaret Lesher Theatre’s big stage in Walnut Creek, and it’s one of the freshest theatrical offerings anywhere.
Jamella Cross (Froggy)
At its core a tale of a young woman who falls for a flaky third-tier actor, Froggy is a dark comedy spoofing a wide swath of contemporary life: movies, television, dysfunctional families, national-brand electronics stores, all-night eateries, obsessive relationships, and ghost towns populated by historical re-enactors—all of it wrapped in the cocoon of an addictive video game called “Final Redemption.”
Maeve Coyne (Little Froggy) and Michael Ray Wisely (Dad)
Adam KuveNiemann (Tiger) and Jamella Cross (Froggy)
That may sound like a lot to jam into a one-act 90-minute production, but Center REP‘s Artistic Director Matt M. Morrow does it beautifully. Jamella Cross stars as the eponymous Froggy, a young woman in love with the movies, who leaves her rural home in Texas and ventures to Hollywood hoping to become a film director.
Adam KuveNiemann (Tiger)
Maeve Coyne (Little Froggy), Jamella Cross (Froggy), and Emily Newsom (Voice of Froggy)
Instead, she settles for being a production assistant. One day on the set she meets an insecure actor named Michael (Adam KuveNiemann) and soon they are an on-again/off-again item. Michael can’t seem to break through to a lead role—or even a decent supporting role—and can’t stay very long with Froggy, much to her dismay. She discovers that he’s played a role as “Tiger” in a hard-to-obtain video game and goes first in search of the game, then in search of its maker (“Smileyface Productions”), then down a literal cave to find the object of her affection.
Maeve Coyne (Little Froggy)
That’s the linear part of a wildly entertaining romp through time and Froggy’s somewhat addled but extremely determined mind. With her infectious confidence, leavened with a huge dollop of self-deprecation, and her enormous athleticism, Cross commands our attention throughout. KuveNiemann is hilarious as the egocentric Michael, completely embodying “Tiger” in multiple reenactments of key scenes from the game—ones that include an ominous clown and Tiger’s nemesis “Coyote” (Jed Parsario, also as Froggy’s brother Rusty, and incidental characters), with abrupt shifts from within the game to the outside world.
Nancy Carlin (Cheetah)
Emily Newsom (Voice of Froggy)
It all moves at breakneck pace, from the cheesy 1970s TV series-style introduction to the heartrending conclusion. Maeve Coyne is superb as the adolescent Froggy. So is veteran actor Michael Ray Wisely as Froggy’s alcoholic Vietnam veteran dad. Wisely also appears as Marty, a Best Buy store manager (the only one with a copy of “Final Redemption”), a lonely but sage truck driver, and, in a comic cameo, as a re-enactor at a played-out silver mine in the fictional desert ghost town of Calico, California. Nancy Carlin is tremendous in multiple roles, including as a waitress at a roadside Denny’s, and as a video game actor. Above it all, on a spectacularly imposing set by Sibyl Wickersheimer looms narrator Emily Newsome in a frog’s-head hat, telling Froggy’s story from an adult perspective.
Adam KuveNiemann (Tiger)
Adam KuveNiemann (Tiger), Jamella Cross (Froggy), and Michael Ray Wisely (One Armed Teddy)
Beyond whip-smart presentation, the most astounding parts of Froggy are its immersive projections, made more otherworldly by the use of GoPro cameras that render distorted images as seen by characters onstage. Foley sound effects are also performed onstage by the cast. The production’s director of creative technology Jared Mezzocchi is largely responsible for all this.
Jed Parsario (Coyote)
Post-show, Wisely mentioned that they had two weeks of ten-hour days in tech rehearsal. The results are astonishing. Froggy is tightly conceived and performed, but loose enough around the edges to give it a deliciously improvisational feel. A large two-page storyboard outside the theater’s doors explains the show’s concept, a benefit for those who may be baffled by the production’s apparent randomness.
Jamella Cross (Froggy)
Froggy is innovative, fresh, and delightful. It’s a must-see for anyone keen on the evolution of contemporary theater—a brilliant concept stunningly delivered.
Emily Newsom (Voice of Froggy) and Jamella Cross (Froggy)
photos by Kevin Berne
Froggy
Center Repertory Company
Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Dr, in Walnut Creek
ends on March 2, 2025
for tickets, call 925.943.7469 (Wed-Sun, 12-6pm) or visit CenterREP
Barry Willis is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association and president of the SF Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle.
