The Frogs, now at Lincoln Center, billed as "A New Musical," is only about 2400 years old. Based on the play by Aristophanes, adapted by Burt Shevelove, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and re-adapted by Nathan Lane, the show is the broadest of farces, dripping with imagination, sparkle and laughs. It's not a great work, but Susan Stroman has directed and choreographed this mixture of Greek myth, contemporary political commentary, and absurdity with brilliance, imagination and flair. With Nathan Lane, possibly the greatest cavorter of our time, cavorting as the lead Dionysos, aided and abetted by the wonderful farceurs Roger Bart, Peter Bartlett, John Byner and a cast of dancing frogs (a choreographic masterpiece), nymphs, rope dancers, gymnasts, Stroman gives us a spectacular, mostly entertaining extravaganza. Ingenious set by Giles Cadle, great costumes by William Ivey Long and perfect lighting by Kenneth Posner all add to the flavorful mix Stroman has created.
A small "however": for some unfathomable reason, the authors veer from farce in a short section of Act 2 to give us a useless, boring argument between Shakespeare and G.B. Shaw. One comparison would have been enough; they give us four. It's an intellectual argument that feels like it's from another play. When they get back to farce, the jokes and the fun, the basic high level entertainment of the show, resumes.
