Guest User 10/11/21 Guest User 10/11/21

[FLS - Letter to the Editor] Don’t miss ‘Bright Star’ at Riverside

Don’t miss “Bright Star.” Kudos to Riverside Center for the Performing Arts, its cast, orchestra and artistic director for lifting the spirits of this audience member. The food was great, too.

Thank you for bringing the theater back after too long an absence.

Guest User 10/5/21 Guest User 10/5/21

[FLS - Letter to the Editor] Go see 'Bright Star' at Riverside

Hey, Fredericksburg! There’s a “Bright Star” shining over Riverside Center for the Performing Arts. Don’t miss it!

This beautiful story by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell is brought to life with powerful singing, flawless acting and the joy of performing that we consistently find at Riverside.

Guest User 9/30/21 Guest User 9/30/21

[Free Lance-Star] Theater review: Beautifully moving 'Bright Star' shoots for the heart

After months and months of waiting in the wings, it’s safe to say that “Bright Star” was worth the wait. Steve Martin and Edie Brickell’s feel-good bluegrass musical is finally getting its chance to shine at the Riverside Center for the Performing Arts, and it is absolutely beaming with talent.

The Tony-nominated musical, which also enjoyed a brief run at the Kennedy Center, is giving local audiences an opportunity to experience this sweeping story about love and redemption, heartbreak and hope.

Guest User 9/16/21 Guest User 9/16/21

[Free Lance-Star] 'Bright Star' musical beams into Riverside after 18-month wait

It’s happening, folks.

Nearly 18 months after being postponed and with its set literally tucked aside at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts since, “Bright Star” and all of its bluegrass glory is a go.

The nostalgic, feel-good musical with a score by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell kicked off its local stint on Wednesday and runs through Oct. 31.

Guest User 8/4/21 Guest User 8/4/21

[Free Lance-Star] Review: Riverside's 'Grumpy Old Men' musical is a sweet charmer

The news is looking pretty grim these days, with the exception of the pandemic-delayed Olympics (go, USA!), but the theater is a place we can go to escape for a few hours.

Riverside Center for the Performing Arts continues its run of nostalgia-heavy shows, following the recent “Marvelous Wonderettes” that was overflowing with crowd-pleasing songs from the 1950s and ’60s. For its latest production, however, the theater isn’t going that far back.

“Grumpy Old Men” is a sweet surprise for another movie-turned-musical. Based on the 1993 classic starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, the story follows two neighbors feuding over the town’s foxy newcomer as they also grapple with changing times, financial troubles and—for one of them—a ridiculously persistent tax collector.

Guest User 7/28/21 Guest User 7/28/21

[Free Lance-Star] Heartwarming 'Grumpy Old Men' makes its regional debut at Riverside Center

Riverside Center for the Performing Arts’ production of “Grumpy Old Men” is a salve for pandemic-weary audiences. It’s got a lot of laughs, but it’s got heart, too. That’s according to co-lead Jim Lawson who plays Max Gustafson in the musical.

He and co-lead John Hollinger, who plays fellow grumpy old man John Gustafson, began performing July 21. The show runs through Sept. 5 and is the first regional performance of the “Grumpy Old Men” musical—and the first performance of it after theaters reopened following COVID-19 shutdowns.

Guest User 7/1/21 Guest User 7/1/21

[Free Lance-Star] LETTER: Riverside Theater is a vital part of our community

Riverside Theater is a vital part of our community

The sun is indeed shining at Riverside Theater for the Performing Arts!

I have been a patron since 2005 and have enjoyed many productions, observing firsthand Riverside’s growth and development. As a member of the Riverside Foundation for the Performing Arts, I give credit for this mainstay of Fredericksburg culture to Patrick A’Hearn, the theater’s producing artistic director.

Guest User 6/17/21 Guest User 6/17/21

[Free Lance-Star Review] Sweet, silly 'Marvelous Wonderettes' hits all the right notes

Summer is almost here and there’s a certain radiant energy in the air as life is starting to feel a little normal again. And one bright spot can be found at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts, with its new show “The Marvelous Wonderettes.”

The past year has been a long and challenging one, and this charming jukebox musical takes audiences on a welcome journey to another era—making you forget we’re living in pandemic at least for a little while.

Guest User 6/2/21 Guest User 6/2/21

[The Free Lance-Star] Blast from the past: Riverside returns to the stage with 'Marvelous Wonderettes'

The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked absolute havoc on so many aspects of our lives—certainly including the privilege to enjoy live theater and, for the countless folks ingrained in the theater world, doing what they were born to do.

With hopefully our darkest days behind us, light and hope are noticeably emerging. And, that light is absolutely beaming through the halls of Riverside Center for the Performing Arts and in the form of its latest production.

“The Marvelous Wonderettes” is live and on Riverside’s main stage through July 11.

10/9/20 10/9/20

[The Free Lance-Star] Bravissimo: Riverside's production of 'Souvenir' is music to my ears

Florence Foster Jenkins might be the world’s worst opera singer, but for me, she’s music to my ears.

“Souvenir,” onstage at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts, is a charmer of a show about a wealthy socialite who simply wants to share her musical gifts with others and raise money for charities. There’s just a tiny little problem: She can’t carry a tune.

5/1/20 5/1/20

[The Free Lance-Star] 'Bright Star' awaits Riverside audiences upon its return

In mid-March, Riverside Center for the Performing Arts was riding an incredible high.

The regional theater was closing a record-breaking run of the feel-good classic “Grease.” It opened on Jan. 8 and ran through March 15, carrying the highest grossing sales and attendance of any production in Riverside’s nearly 24-year history.

Flash forward to today. A once-thriving theater’s stage is dark, its infectious buzz has been nearly silenced and there’s a show in the queue that is ready whenever the world is.

1/30/20 1/30/20

[The Free Lance-Star] Review: 'Grease' is a colorful ride through nostalgia at Riverside

“Grease” is getting a whole lot of lovin’ this year. With a TV spinoff in the works and a vibrant production at the Riverside Center for the Performing Arts, this story about a group of teenagers living it up in small-town 1959 America continues to resonate.

1/23/20 1/23/20

[Free Lance-Star] Big emotions, big performances: A look back at theater in 2019

Another year, another decade.

With the incredible wealth of theater in the area, it’s impossible to see everything. Before launching into another year of shows, let’s take a look back at some of the works that left a big mark—or smile—with this reviewer. Here are some of my favorites:

12/11/19 12/11/19

[Free Lance-Star] Soldier's homecoming surprises wife, son and Riverside theater audience

An Army soldier returned home from Afghanistan and surprised his family with a Christmas homecoming they will never forget. Unbeknownst to his wife Bree and their young son Ryland, Army Spc. Shawn O’Malley stepped out onto the stage of Stafford’s Riverside Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday night, with actors who were portraying different branches of the military.

12/4/19 12/4/19

[Free Lance-Star] The 'Riverside Christmas Spectacular' brings holiday happiness

If you haven’t quite caught the holiday spirit yet, let’s change that. Whether you’ve been a complete Grinch up to this point or you’ve simply bottled up all of your Christmas excitement to release it after Thanksgiving, there’s a new show at Riverside to bring us all oodles of joy. The “Riverside Christmas Spectacular” kicked off Wednesday and runs through Dec. 29.

10/31/19 10/31/19

[Free Lance-Star] Review: 'Annie' is a big-hearted charmer at Riverside

Little Orphan Annie made her début in Harold Gray’s comic strip in 1924, and almost 100 years later, this spirited redhead continues to inspire people’s hopes for a better tomorrow.

“Annie,” now onstage at Riverside, is a sweet, feel-good family show. As the first few notes of the musical’s overture start to trickle out, it’s hard not to smile and feel nostalgic about the beloved 1982 film starring Aileen Quinn as the effervescent streetwise redhead. Movie lovers will notice some differences in the musical version featuring a book by Thomas Meehan (no scary bridge scene), but overall, one thing’s for certain: This story about an optimistic orphan in search of her parents has a big heart.

10/31/19 10/31/19

[Free Lance-Star] 'Annie' comes to Riverside Center for the Performing Arts

Carol Burnett and Aileen Quinn starred in the beloved 1982 film. Andrea McArdle, Reid Shelton and Dorothy Loudon starred in the Broadway original.

And now, “Annie” has landed at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts with some stars of its own. The musical opened at the Fredericksburg venue on Wednesday and runs through Nov. 17.

8/5/19 8/5/19

[Free Lance-Star] Riverside Center for the Performing Arts sets course for 'South Pacific'

When “South Pacific” first débuted on Broadway, it was an immediate hit.

That was in 1949, pulling on the reflective heartstrings of audiences who had World War II fresh on their minds.

Flash forward to today: While WWII is long gone, many of the Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein musical’s poignant messages still hit home. The show owns the Riverside Center for the Performing Arts stage through Sept. 15.

6/4/19 6/4/19

[The Free Lance-Star/Culpeper Star Exponent] Review: A shipshape 'Pirates of Penzance' is swashbuckling fun at Riverside

Brilliant wit, successfully delivered, is a rare delight—to experience such wit, joyously sustained and sprinkled steadily over several hours may occur only a handful of occasions in a lifetime.

“The Pirates of Penzance,” onstage now at the Riverside Center for the Performing Arts in Stafford County, qualifies as one of those occasions—an opportunity to be avidly sought and relished by any intelligent music lover with a sense of humor.

6/4/19 6/4/19

[The Free Lance-Star] Riverside's 'The Pirates of Penzance' gets a Fredericksburg-themed hook

Arrrrr, matey. Let’s go on a pirate-filled adventure, shall we?

Don’t worry, this one isn’t dangerous or life-threatening like you’ll find off the Somalian coast. Instead, it’s a beloved comic operetta hitting a local stage and being customized with familiar places and people galore.

Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Pirates of Penzance—The Rascals of the Rappahannock” opened at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday and runs through July 7.