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w w w . o a kv ill eb ea ve r.c o m O A KV IL LE B EA V ER Fr id ay , N ov em be r 1 9, 2 01 0 2 4 Artscene By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF If you think your mail delivery service is slow just be grateful this guy isnt your postman. Former Oakville resident Kevin Dennis is performing as the fast talking, slow moving snail mail- man in the upcoming childrens musical production of A Year with Frog and Toad in Toronto. The musical theatre production opened Monday, Nov. 15 and con- tinues until Dec. 30 at the Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People. The humour is that hes a snail who is a mail carrier, the 30-year- old Dennis said. Hes the snail with the mail, is one of the lyrics. The humour in that is that hes not the fastest delivery man and hell appear several times throughout the play delivering a letter. Theres kind of clever pieces of writing that go with it. The musical is about two friends, Frog and Toad who are on an adventure while growing up. They deal with maturing and growing up, while meeting new friends and finding new things. The show explores what its like when friends grow up. Frog and Toad are the essential charac- ters and they live just down the way from each other, Dennis said. He performs as two support characters on the show, one of them being the snail, and the other is a one of a flock of three birds that show up throughout the adventure. Dennis said the snail part is a bit more challenging because it features solo songs, unlike the other character he plays. Its been a lot of fun, he said. Part of the challenge is the lyrics are extremely fast and kind of snappy where as the movement is very snail like. Thats the fun that were having with it. The musical, which also appeared on Broadway, is based on a series of books by Arnold Lobel. Despite it being a childrens show, Dennis said the whole family will enjoy it. Its based on childrens litera- ture but its a family show and it does appeal to all ages, he said. Its targeted at the younger ages but the humour, the sense of friendship, relationships and maturing, that kind of thing, is geared towards all ages. Some of the humour definitely translates to adults. Dennis is not new to childrens shows. He is known as the voice of Goldbug and Sgt. Murphy on the CBCs Busytown Mysteries. Hes also appeared in Shakespeare pro- ductions and other musical theatre presentations. Tickets to A Year with Frog and Toad range from $10-20. For times, dates and tickets visit www.lktyp.ca. Snail-mailman a fun musical challenge NOT SO LIKEABLE: Left to right are Cara Hunter, Louis Pitre, Oakvilles Kevin Dennis, Allen MacInnis and Jennifer Villaverde in the musical childrens pro- duction of A Year with Frog and Toad. PHOTO CURTESY OF DANIEL ALEXANDER Hes the snail with the mail, is one of the lyrics. The humour is that hes not the fastest delivery man and hell appear several times throughout the play delivering a letter. Kevin Dennis, performer