A frog and a toad — and their animal pals — will be in residence at 42nd Street's New Victory Theatre next winter.

The new children's musical, A Year With Frog and Toad, makes its world premiere Aug. 20-Nov. 2 at Minneapolis' Children's Theatre Company, and transfers immediately to New York City for a holiday run Nov. 15-Dec. 2, according to CTC.

A Year With Frog and Toad is based on Arnold Lobel's award-winning books about a pair of amphibians with an unwavering friendship despite their very different personalities. The small-cast musical features five performers (one to play Frog and one to play Toad, while the other provide a menagerie of other creatures). Willie Reale wrote the book and lyrics. His brother, Robert, provided the music, written with a 1920s jazz feel. The siblings wrote the Off-Broadway musical, Once Around the City, seen at Second Stage in summer 2001.

David Petrarca (Marvin's Room, Fuddy Meers) will direct. The set designer is Adrianne Lobel, daughter of the late author. The show has had regional readings that have included actor Robert Sella (Side Man and the tour of Angels in America).

A Year With Frog and Toad marks the New York debut for Children's Theatre Company. The Minneapolis-based troupe, one of the largest children's theatres in the country, produces six mainstage productions a year, teaches acting and performing classes in a conservatory environment and tours the Midwest and the world. Tickets in New York go on sale in September. For ticket and information on current shows at the New Victory, call (212) 239 6200. The New Victory is on the web at http://www.newvictory.org. For more information on Children's Theatre Company, visit http://www.childrenstheatre.org.

— By Christine Ehren