Bluegrass Musical Tells Legendary Tale of the Loveland Frog   

Moonshiners, bluegrass music and an elusive frog that stands on its hind legs? Sounds like a solid night at the theater to us. After premiering at the 2014 Cincinnati Fringe Fest with a sold-out run, “Hot Damn! It’s the Loveland Frog” is marking its 10th anniversary with performances Sept. 5 through 7 in the town where the legend was born.  

But first, a bit on the frog: The story began in 1955 when a man driving home from work, saw three figures with strange, frog-like features along the side of the road near the Little Miami River. Over the years, tales handed down along with infrequent yet substantive sightings have worked to keep the creature alive in local lore.   

Joshua Steele and Michael D. Hall, the creators of “Hot Damn! It’s the Loveland Frog,” met as actors performing on the Showboat Majestic in Cincinnati and soon began co-writing shows. Riding a wave of success from a show they staged in 2012, the duo decided to tackle the less-known lore of the mysterious frog from Hall’s hometown of Loveland.  

 “This was the first, actually, in a series of plays we’ve written, which are based on sort of weird Cincinnati history” Steele says. “At the time, it was a lesser-known local legend. In the intervening years, it seems to have been much more embraced than it was.” 

“Hot Damn! It’s the Loveland Frog” is set in 1996 and centers around an outcast character who goes missing. His son and girlfriend then began what Steele calls an “epic quest” to find him, encountering moonshiners, an unusual professor and a local police officer along the way. He adds that characters in the show are creative interpretations and extensions of people who have reportedly encountered the Loveland Frog over the years. 

Heavily inspired by 1960s singer-songwriter Roger Miller, who is perhaps most widely known for the “King of the Road,” the musical blends a combination of country, bluegrass and novelty music, with the book, music and lyrics for the show all written by Hall and Steele. The production at the Loveland Stage Co. in downtown Loveland is the first time the show has been staged since its run in 2014.

“We told ourselves that if we ever wanted to do it again, we would have to do it in actual Loveland and so here we are,” Steele says.

The Loveland Frogman Race takes place in town that same weekend, featuring a 5-mile kayak, 8-mile bike ride and 5K run. ”Return of the Loveland Frogman,” a new festival celebrating the famous cryptid, is set for Oct. 12 from 4 to 8 p.m. 

“Having something for Loveland to hang its hat on, that's a little silly, a little goofy, I think is a lot of fun,” Steele says.  

For more information and to purchase tickets for the performances, visit lovelandstagecompany.org.  

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