[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.
[DC Metro Theater Arts] Back by popular demand, ‘Riverside Christmas Spectacular’ sparkles
Back by popular demand and refreshed for 2019, Riverside Center for the Performing Arts presents Riverside Christmas Spectacular, a variety show composed of beloved Christmas classics, with a few fun new treats as well. Director Patrick A’Hearn provides the Book for this production alongside Sherri L. Edelen, with Musical Arrangements by Paul Rawlins. Angela Donadio directs a live orchestra onstage, and they do an impeccable job with the music.
[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.
[Culpeper Times] CURTAINS: “Pirates…” The Very Model of a Modern Operetta
They fancy themselves a dangerous lot, but the grim list of killed and captured by the Pirates of Penzance is…nonexistent. Their job is to be fierce and take hostages, but somehow - dash it all! – the hostages always turn out to be orphans! And being orphans themselves, they just can’t take ungentlemanly advantage. That means our pirates are no more successful now in 2019 than they were back in 1879. That’s when this Gilbert and Sullivan jewel first held audiences captive with its rapier wit, and it’s been swashing its buckles ever since.
Three cannon shots of congratulation to Riverside for staging this gold nugget and doing it justice. In a whimsical modification, director Catherine Flye has renamed this the “Rascals of the Rappahannock” and brought the pirates to Fredericksburg in the time of George III, as opposed to the Victorian era Cornwall coast.
DC Metro Theater Arts Review: ‘The Pirates of Penzance (or the Rascals of the Rappahannock)’ at Riverside Center
Riverside Center of the Performing Arts reprises Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, a two-act comic operetta that was first produced in December of 1879, and remains in production to this day! Director and Adaptor Catherine Flye gives the show (originally set in Cornwall) a local spin by placing the action on the banks of the Rappahannock River and offering the revised title Rascals of the Rappahannock.
[Free Lance-Star Year in Review] 2018: a big and bright journey to the past
In 2018, I saw nearly 30 area productions (not to mention “Frozen” on Broadway and “West Side Story” sung entirely in Spanish while on vacation). That number is only a small dent in the incredible theater that was presented on local stages.
Here are a few of my favorites:
Riverside's Christmas Spectacular is guaranteed to fill your holiday with joy
Already spectacularly popular, the Riverside Center for the Performing Arts’ “Christmas Spectacular” is destined to become a favorite for holiday seasons to come.
Running now through Dec. 31, audiences are loving this variety show of Christmas classics, with echoes of Radio City’s “Christmas Spectacular” in its liveliness and verve.