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.

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. (WJLA) — It was a true Bing Crosby moment at The Riverside Center for the Performing Arts in Fredericksburg, Virginia Saturday night.

Artistic director Patrick A'Hearn tells ABC7 that Army Specialist Sean O’Malley returned home from Afghanistan and surprised his wife Bree and his son Ryland on stage during "A Riverside Christmas Spectacular."

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.

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.