Three musicals brighten up the summer

Children dressed as owls, snails and butterflies moved around the stage as 10-year-old Brooke Johnston, dressed as a frog, sang during rehearsal for "Frog and Toad" by children in grades 2-5 at Wauconda High School on Tuesday.

The play is based on the Frog and Toad characters in a series of children's books written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel containing simple, humorous short stories following the adventures of a frog and his friend, a toad.

"The kids learned a lot of rudimentary fundamental stage skills," said Mary Beth Euker, founder and director of Cricket Theatre Co explaining how the young children reacted to being in the play."They learned how to conquer their fear of being in front of a crowd and how to sing and dance and remember a lot of routines."

Three musical performances by Cricket Theatre Co., a not-for-profit troupe for actors ages 8 to 18 based in Lake Zurich, will be held during the next few weeks involving more than 175 kids.

The presentation of "Frog and Toad" will be held at 7 p.m. July 23 and 24 at the Wauconda High School Performing Arts Center.

"The Wiz" will be presented by children in grades 6-8 at 7 p.m. July 25 and 2 p.m. July 26 with both performances at Wauconda High School Performing Arts Center. The musical, "The Wiz," follows Dorothy through her escapades along the Yellow Brick Road in the Land of Oz under a backdrop of rock, gospel, and soul music.

"Mary Poppins" will be performed by high school students and first year college students at 7 p.m. July 31 and Aug. 1 at Lake Zurich High School.

Founded in 2013, the Cricket Theater is a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to foster the growth, education and enjoyment of musical theatre.

Tickets are $9.00 in advance and $11.00 at the door and can be purchased by emailing crickettickets2015@gmail.com.

For more information, go to https://sites.google.com/site/crickettheatrecompany/home.