[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.
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.
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.
DCMetroTheaterArts Review: ‘A Rockabilly Christmas’ at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts
This holiday season, Riverside Center for the Performing Arts presents A Rockabilly Christmas, co-created by Todd Meredith, Patrick A’Hearn and Jeremy Renner. For this production, Riverside returns select soloists alongside Todd Meredith and his band the Rave-Ons. Together, the group throws a festive party onstage by performing a collection of classic holiday songs with a rockabilly twist. They also share stories, jokes, and general holiday cheer!
Free Lance-Star Review: Riverside rocks the holiday classics in ‘A Rockabilly Christmas’
If you’re looking for Christmas, you’ll find it—and a lot more—at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts. This month, the dinner theater is cranking up the holiday cheer with “A Rockabilly Christmas.” And it has recruited some of your favorite Riverside faces like Ian Lane, Sheri Hayden and Kadejah Oné. But the show’s biggest gift to audiences is Todd Meredith and the Rave-Ons, and their high-voltage energy and concert theatrics.
DCMetroTheaterArts Review: ‘Beauty and the Beast’ at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts
A beloved classic, Beauty and the Beast is a popular choice amongst audiences. When a show’s high status is paired with Riverside’s well-earned reputation for providing Broadway-quality performances for the NOVA region, the result is a packed auditorium. I wasn’t at all surprised to see so many people at my performance (or lots of little girls in sparkly yellow ball gowns), nor was I surprised when that performance received an enthusiastic standing ovation at curtain call.
Culpeper Times CURTAIN CALLS: Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” Roars On
For many years of reviewing regional theatre, I have looked around the audience with growing concern at the many grey and balding heads. Where, I asked myself, in this age of Netflix, YouTube, video games, and movie theatres with reclining chairs will the next generation of live theatre patrons come from?
Now I have an answer.
Free Lance-Star Review: Riverside’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’
Everyone knows the story of “Beauty and the Beast.” One of Disney’s most beloved and popular movies, it tells the story of a vain, cruel prince who is cursed to live as a beast after turning an old woman away from his castle for her appearance. Only by learning to love someone and be truly loved in return can the prince break the spell. Enter Belle, an independent village girl who dreams of more outside her quaint little village.
Riverside Center for the Performing Arts brings this classic story to life with all of the favorite songs and characters from the 1991 animated feature, but it also offers fans and newcomers so much more to enjoy. What makes this show stand out are the quieter moments that resonate with the audience. That is what Riverside is trying to shine a light on: the relationships at the heart of the story.
Free Lance-Star Review: ‘A Chorus Line’ exposes heartache and thrill of making it on Broadway
It takes an army of super-talented dancers, singers and actors to put on the big-ticket productions Broadway is known for—shows like “Les Miserables,” “The Lion King,” “The Phantom of the Opera,” “Wicked.” Who are these hundreds of largely anonymous people? How did they end up where they are?
Onstage at the Riverside Center for the Performing Arts through Sept. 16, “A Chorus Line” examines a handful of these unique individuals and what drove them to pursue such a career—as well as the ins and outs, the starts and stops, the thrill and devastation that make performing what it is.
BWW Review: Riverside Center for the Performing Arts’ A CHORUS LINE Captures Lightning in a Bottle
Riverside Center for the Performing Arts has a real treat for its 100th production with the classic Broadway musical A Chorus Line. From the iconic opening number to the show-stopping finale, 22 triple-threat performers work tirelessly and prove this production is something really special. There have been recent tours and productions in Virginia, but this is the “One” audiences really must see.