Most musicals in a high school are rehearsed for at least 10 weeks after school. The students in the repertory class that studies musical theatre only have six weeks of in-class time to rehearse the show “A Year with Frog and Toad.”

“A Year with Frog and Toad” will be performed on May 7 at 2 p.m. and may be taken to a nursing home and elementary school during class time the next week.

David Hastings, theatre teacher, and Elise Peterson, choir teacher, picked to do “A Year with Frog and Toad” with this rep class because it fit really well with the students they had.

“A Year with Frog and Toad,” a musical written by Robert and Willie Reale, premiered on Broadway in 2003. It follows the story of Frog and Toad based on the book series called “Frog and Toad” by Arnold Lobel.

Usually the show is performed with only five cast members; however, it is easy to change it to include more actors.

“Getting students to take responsibility for producing their own show [is the most difficult part of putting this show on],” Hastings said. “I think that students are so trained to follow directions; it is hard for them to take on a project on their own.”

Lexi Nelson, junior, and Ethan Stanley, senior, play the lead roles of Toad and Frog. Nelson finds a lot of herself in the character she plays.

“Toad is honestly me,” Nelson said. “The character is pretty unaware of how awkward and goofy she is, but she still remains confident in her decisions and actions.”

All of the characters in the show are creatures of some sort: frogs, squirrels, birds and even a snail. According to Nelson, playing an animal in the show isn’t very difficult because the animals show just as much character and emotion as people do.

Time is a major factor in the process of this show.

“We have been extremely pressed for time, but now everything is really starting to fall into place,” Nelson said.

Stanley and Peterson have the same opinion as Nelson about time.

“It’s hard when the time is all split up, but it is really fun to see the show go from nothing to something in a matter of days,” Stanley said.

Usually musicals have a live orchestra to sing along to; however, because of funds and space issues, “A Year with Frog and Toad” is being performed with a pre-recorded track.

“In my opinion, the most difficult thing about putting this show together is the limited time that we have to get all the components put together perfectly for a strong show that the audience will love and understand,” Peterson said. “Also, getting the timing with electronic tracks is quite difficult, but the students seem to be handling it well with the appropriate amount of practice.”

Trent Welch, senior, plays an important role in “A Year with Frog and Toad,” though he is technically not in the show. Welch is the main crew member in charge of writing down blocking, building the set and taking notes.

“[Being a part of this show] is different because I’m the only one responsible for me. The other students are the ones who design the set and make the blocking. It is up to the students to make sure the show runs perfect,” Welch said.

Stanley enjoys how different this show is than others he has been a part of.

“This show is almost totally student directed, which is a lot of pressure, but it is a really nice opportunity to have so much say in what goes on,” Stanley said.