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.

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.

Listen to John Hollinger (John Gustafson) and Jim Lawson (Max Goldman) preview our production of Grumpy Old Men at Riverside alongside director and choreographer Penny Ayn Maas and Riverside Center's Producing Artistic Director, Patrick A'Hearn and Town Talk's Ted Schubel (NewsTalk 1230 WFVA).

Fredericksburg, VA – Riverside Center for the Performing Arts and Producing Artistic Director, Patrick A’Hearn are delighted to announce a thrilling lineup of shows for its 24th season of bringing Broadway’s Best to Virginia that includes the return of Joyce DeWitt and Joe Inscoe in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner and the regional premiere of the side-splitting new musical, Grumpy Old Men, based on the classic motion picture which starred Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, and Ann-Margaret. The season opens with the bubbly, off-Broadway hit, The Marvelous Wonderettes, then continuing with a sweeping tale of love and redemption in Steve Martin and Edie Brickell’s Tony Award-nominated Bright Star. The season will ride into the holiday season and conclude with the beloved and heartwarming musical adaptation of Meet Me in St. Louis.