By McKenna Johnson
The Frog Prince, put on at Heritage Park in Cedar Hills by the Creekside Theatre Fest in cooperation with Samuel French, is a children’s play perfect for a parent-child outing.
A refreshing twist on a well-known fairy tale, David Mamet’s The Frog Prince is the journey of a prince who is turned into a frog and needs the selfless kiss of a young woman to break the curse. The catch is that the kingdom doesn’t await the return of the prince. Instead, his cousin seizes control of the kingdom, and he and his vain queen do their worst to make sure the prince can’t reclaim his throne. Without friends, the prince has to rely on people he thinks beneath him in order to survive.
The play is held in Heritage Park, so bring chairs or blankets if you don’t want to sit on the grass. Additionally, Utah Valley has multiple places called Heritage Park, so make sure you go to the one in Cedar Hills and next to Cedar Ridge Elementary School. The amphitheatre isn’t completely visible from the parking lot, so look for the small white signs that point the way. Playgoers cross a small bridge with a step on either side, so those who use wheelchairs or have other accessibility needs will have to schedule extra time to navigate the park.
My boyfriend and I found the ticket table easily, and the person who gave us our tickets was friendly and professional. As I walked toward the amphitheatre and saw the set and a few people in frog costumes, I worried a little about the quality of the production. Fortunately, my first impression didn’t accurately represent the fun of the production.
I was a bit worried when I saw the frog costumes because the green outfits seemed constructed less with frogs in mind as with whatever green clothes the actors had been able to find at Wal-Mart or Target. However, these frogs are the stage hands (not credited) who also play frogs while they move props and welcome audience members. The frog theme thrives.
The costuming of the main characters (Brooke Grant) is much better. While some of the men’s clothing is clearly modern, the costumes of the women are more professional. The witch’s costume in particular impressed me because her flowy cloak turns into a bright enchantress’s dress in the time it takes to blink a few times. The milkmaid’s costume is simple but pretty and a bit more reflective of standard fairy tale garb.
The prince’s human costume includes a kilt; a kilt is a clever way to distinguish the prince as from a particular family, and the play doesn’t attempt to be serious or historically accurate. The prince’s frog costume includes flippers, gloves, green compression clothing, and striped clothing that make the prince look like he wears an old-fashioned swimsuit.
The set (Josh Hiatt and Giselle Gremmert) in my opinion, wasn’t necessary because in this beautiful space, an amphitheatre provides the stage, and the trees provide a backdrop. For a show that is about an actual outdoor creature, a frog, I’d have liked to see more nature and less man-made constructions. My favorite aspects of the set design are the log chairs and the wheel that shows which season it is. The set designers also put up black curtains that create a backstage area. I think these set elements are effective.
I like the use of fake flowers as props because the actors use them to interact with the audience. However, the other props (Brooke Grant) made the experience less immersive. For example, water is stored in modern plastic milk jugs. I doubt the average child would notice or care.
The acting throughout the play is (deliberately, it seems) exaggerated, with the possible exception of the frustrated but loyal servingman (Jordan Long), whose character is least like a caricature. The prince (Michael Hess) is hilariously childish and randomly philosophical, and the witch (Anadine Marshall) has a fun cackle that shows she’s the antagonist without giving children nightmares. Finally, the milkmaid (Jeanelle Long) is sweet to the verge of unhealthy (you don’t need to feel bad about not being marrying a frog!), but Long does a good job of playing the milkmaid as endearing and kind rather than insipid.
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But while the actors don’t have much character depth to work with, they do a great job. The actors also interact with the children in the audience, spending some of their time offstage sitting with the audience, offering them flowers, and so forth. The actors’ openness to audience participation makes the hour-long play engaging and appropriate even for toddlers.
My favorite aspect of the casting is that Marshall looks kind of like Meghan Markle, and while Hess isn’t a redhead like Prince Harry, he has a beard and an approximate hair color that makes his acting alongside Marshall fantastic. Those who were obsessed with the royal wedding need to go to The Frog Prince just so they can tell their children that it’s a play about Meghan Markle turning Harry into a frog.
In addition to the political struggles, Mamet shows the prince learn how to treat people with respect, and the milkmaid doesn’t kiss the frog when he throws a fit so she will. Parents who are looking to teach their children about healthy relationships can use this as a moment to talk about boundaries. Grant, also the director, leads the actors through the script and effectively develops the themes, and stage manager Lan Nabuco made sure transitions are smooth.
The tech crew (Rebecca Ernstrom and Brit Hurst) ensures clear sound throughout the production.
The play is engaging and amusing, and the prince’s childish hugging, tantrums, and crying keep things interesting. Parents should note that a surprising amount of dialogue includes sexual references such as “nuptial bed” and “red is the color of lust,” so anyone with vocabulary-savvy children should prepare to explain such dialogue.
Overall, I think Creekside Theatre Fest’s The Frog Prince is fun for children under about 10 and would be perfect for a one-on-one parent-child outing. The festival even hosts a barbeque at 7:00 PM (before the other two shows, The Giver and Much Ado About Nothing and after The Frog Prince), so the cost of the ticket includes food as well as entertainment.
Creekside Theatre Fest presents The Frog Prince by David Mamet
Heritage Park, 4425 W Cedar Hills Dr., Cedar Hills, UT 84062
June 22–30, 6:00 PM–7:00 PM (note the earlier time than the other two plays in this festival)
Tickets: $11–$15; family pass $45
Contact: through company website or email
Creekside Theatre Fest Facebook Page
The Frog Prince Facebook Event
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