6/4/19 6/4/19

[The Zebra Press] Review: Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Pirates of Penzance” at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts, Fredericksburg, Va.

I have just seen/heard an absolutely first-rate production of “The Pirates of Penzance or The Rascals of the Rappahannock” at the Riverside Center for the Performing Arts in Fredericksburg, Va. Honestly, I’ve attended many, many productions of this piece with all kinds of adaptations, and this is—hands down—the best. Boom. Period.

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.

6/4/19 6/4/19

Catherine Flye and Claire Leyden preview "The Pirates of Penzance" with Town Talk's Ted Schubel!

Listen to Catherine Flye (Director) and Claire Leyden (Mabel Boshington) preview our upcoming production of The Pirates of Penzance or the Rascals of the Rappahannock at Riverside alongside director and Riverside Center's Producing Artistic Director, Patrick A'Hearn and Town Talk's Ted Schubel (NewsTalk 1230 WFVA).

6/3/19 6/3/19

Young Life: 'Steal Away Home' tells of two brothers' journey to freedom

With a cast of eight actors (including two who are 12 and under), the Riverside Children’s Theatre production of “Steal Away Home” will take audiences on a powerful and unforgettable journey through history and into moments of introspection, humor, dangers and heartwarming joy.

6/3/19 6/3/19

[CBS6's Virginia This Morning] Riverside Center for the Performing Arts presents “The Color Purple”

RICHMOND, Va. - The 1982 Alice Walker novel "The Color Purple" was introduced to a wider audience with the 1985 movie, starring Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey. Winfrey was among the producers who helped bring a musical based on the book to Broadway in 2004. That musical is the latest offering of the Riverside Center for the Performing Arts in Fredericksburg. The theatre's producing artistic director, Patrick A'Hearn along with Kanysha Williams and Kadejah One, who play Celie and Sofia in the production are here to share about the musical and perform a song.

6/3/19 6/3/19

CURTAIN CALLS: 'The Color Purple' is the new gold

For some reason, stories about rape, incest, degradation, and spousal abuse don’t spring to mind when we think of plots for uplifting musicals. Nevertheless, such is the searing, epistolary story that forms the basis for “The Color Purple”, Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel of 1983 which was quickly followed by a film in 1985. A musical version had to happen.

That Broadway hit, which ran from ’05 to ’08, garnered eleven Tony nominations and a Tony-winning revival that ran from late 2015 to 2017. Dramatically speaking, “…Purple” is gold.

That musical revival in all its scorching, heart-breaking glory awaits patrons at the Riverside Center through May 5. If you pick and choose which shows to see, see this one. If you’ve never been, but always meant to go, go now.

6/3/19 6/3/19

BWW Review: THE COLOR PURPLE at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts

Alice Walker's Pulitzer-winning The Color Purple is one of the greatest stories of the last 50 years, and its musical adaptation is one of the most magical Broadway experiences of the last 20 years. Riverside Center for the Performing Arts has captured much of that charm in its moving production of The Color Purple, running through May 5 in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

6/3/19 6/3/19

Culpeper music maker contributes to success of 'The Color Purple' at Riverside

One of Culpeper’s great musical figures is contributing his talents to a new production of “The Color Purple” at The Riverside Center for the Performing Arts in Stafford County.

C. Alexander Smith, music worship leader for Culpeper Baptist Church and director of the Blue Ridge Chorale, plays Grady in a show that features a cast of Broadway-caliber actors.

6/3/19 6/3/19

Review: ‘The Color Purple’ at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts

Magic. Magnificent. Marvelous. There are only so many superlatives I can muster in such a small space, but The Color Purple, now running at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts, is phenomenal. Director Amy Jones, Music Director and Conductor Garrett Jones, and Riverside’s Producing Artistic Director Patrick A’Hearn, who also produced the show, have put on the must-see show for this spring.

6/3/19 6/3/19

A vibrant and powerful ‘Color Purple’ soars at Riverside

Over the past several months, the Riverside Center for the Performing Arts has brought an enchanting Disney tale (“Beauty and the Beast”), a rollicking Buddy Holly revue (“A Rockabilly Christmas”) and an endearing drag queen extravaganza (“La Cage aux Folles”). With its current offering and season-closer, “The Color Purple,” Riverside is going straight for the heart.

Audiences, be prepared to be put through an emotional wringer.

6/3/19 6/3/19

Riverside stages rebooted musical version of Alice Walker's 'The Color Purple'

What is Fredericksburg’s favorite color?

Well, through early May, it’s shaping up to be purple.

“The Color Purple” made its regional début yesterday at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts and runs through May 5.

6/3/19 6/3/19

Kanysha Williams and Nia Savoy preview "The Color Purple" with Town Talk's Ted Schubel!

Listen to Kanysha Williams (Celie) and Nia Savoy (Shug Avery) preview our upcoming production of The Color Purple at Riverside alongside director and Riverside Center's Producing Artistic Director, Patrick A'Hearn and Town Talk's Ted Schubel (NewsTalk 1230 WFVA).

6/3/19 6/3/19

Wendell Jordan, Kadejah Oné, and Carl L. Williams preview "The Color Purple" with Town Talk's Ted Schubel!

Listen to Wendell Jordan (Mister), Kadejah Oné (Sofia), and Carl L. Williams (Harpo) preview our upcoming production of The Color Purple at Riverside alongside director and Riverside Center's Producing Artistic Director, Patrick A'Hearn and Town Talk's Ted Schubel (NewsTalk 1230 WFVA).

5/30/19 5/30/19

[Free Lance-Star] YOUNG LIFE: Tales of friendship from Winnie-the-Pooh and friends at Riverside

The current production of Riverside Children’s Theatre, “Winnie-the-Pooh,” proves that the lovable, caring “bear of little brain” has the continuing capacity to win—and melt—the hearts of audiences young and old.

The show’s director Priya Paranthaman said that her team tried to stay close to the original vision of author A.A. Milne—who first introduced young readers to the whimsical world of Pooh in 1924—in this production, which includes actual dialogue from the books.

5/30/19 5/30/19

[CBS6's Virginia This Morning] Come out and see ‘La Cage Aux Folles’

RICHMOND, Va. - Riverside Center for the Performing Arts in Fredericksburg is excited to bring the Tony Award winning production, “La Cage Aux Folles” to the stage! Christopher Sanders and Gabe Belyeu shared a song from the show. Patrick A’Hearn, Producing Artistic Director was also on hand.

5/30/19 5/30/19

Culpeper Times CURTAIN CALLS: ‘La Cage' releases Folles at Riverside

Pull out your feather boa, your sequined gown and gold lame cape. Squeeze into those impossible high heels and don’t forget the fire engine lipstick.

Oh, and tell your wife to dress up, too. The “folles” have arrived!

This is a first for our favorite dinner theater. The Riverside Center has made the creative decision to branch out a bit and bring something not seen on a mainstream stage in the Fredericksburg area. But “not seen” doesn’t mean “new.” For all its glitter and illusion, “La Cage Aux Folles” has a very respectable 46-year history.

5/30/19 5/30/19

Free Lance-Star Review: Warm up to a fabulously funny ‘La Cage aux Folles’

The French Riviera comes to Fredericksburg as “La Cage aux Folles,” with its irrepressible star Zsa Zsa, flies into the Riverside Center for the Performing Arts.

And what better way to escape this arctic blast than with a heartwarming show about love and family, complete with drag queens and flashy musical numbers?

“La Cage aux Folles” is packed with humor and heart as it follows an older gay couple, Georges and Albin, and the challenges they face when Georges’ son, Jean-Michel, announces his engagement to the daughter of a super-conservative politician.

5/30/19 5/30/19

Christopher Sanders and Gabe Belyeu preview "La Cage aux Folles" with Town Talk's Ted Schubel!

Listen to Christopher Sanders (Georges) and Gabe Belyeu (Albin) preview our upcoming production of La Cage aux Folles at Riverside alongside director and Riverside Center's Producing Artistic Director, Patrick A'Hearn and Town Talk's Ted Schubel (NewsTalk 1230 WFVA).

5/19/19 5/19/19

[Free Lance-Star] Riverside lets loose the Broadway classic 'La Cage aux Folles'

Remember “The Birdcage”?

The 1996 instant-classic-of-a-flick, starring Robin Williams and Gene Hackman, left audiences in tears—both laughing and reflecting on love in its many forms.

Now the musical version of this wonderful story is making its way to the ’Burg. “La Cage aux Folles” owns the Riverside Center for the Performing Arts stage through early March.

5/19/19 5/19/19

Riverside Center for the Performing Arts presents LA CAGE AUX FOLLES!

The Riverside Center for the Performing Arts in Fredericksburg, Virginia is excited to present The Tony award winning La Cage aux Folles beginning January 9th and running until Sunday, March 3rd. The original 1983 Broadway production received nine nominations for Tony Awards and won six. The 2010 Broadway revival was nominated for eleven Tony Awards, winning the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical. Based on the French play and retold in the Robin Williams movie, The Bird Cage, the Jerry Herman Broadway musical La Cage aux Folles is the story of a gay couple who must pretend to be straight for one night - with one of the men in drag - to dupe the conservative political family of their son's fiancée. Featuring songs, "I Am What I Am," "With Ann on My Arm," and "The Best of Times."

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