COMPASS
AMERICA’S HISTORIC EAST
On with the show, this is it
Riverside Center for the Performing Arts
Since the Riverside Center for the Performing Arts opened in
1998, more than half a million people have seen live perfor-
mances on its stage. The theater is located in Fredericksburg,
Virginia, halfway between Richmond and Washington, D.C. Once the motorcoach arrives, groups are greeted and
ushered to a lounge area with a bar. Dinner follows, and it
includes a salad, choice of entrée and dessert. Once the plates
are cleared, the curtain comes up for the show that Huffine
“Groups love Riverside Center, as it’s a delightful retreat from
real life,” says Nancy Huffine, group sales manager. “The magic of
music and theater, the intimate venue and a plated dinner served
by members of the production make for a fabulous evening.”
The Riverside’s resident company stages its own productions
of Broadway classics, top musicals and regional plays. A typical
autumn-to-spring season includes six main-stage shows and
another six performances through its children’s theater series. says features “Broadway-quality talent, costumes, direction
and production values that help take viewers away to another
place and time for a couple of hours.”
In addition to seeing a performance, Huffine says groups
have plenty of options, including a behind-the-scenes tour
that goes backstage and to the costume shop, the prop shop
and the scenery shop. “Particulars depend on timing of
arrival, availability and the production, and we’ve offered per-
formance options for smaller ensembles
and choral groups, or a chance to join
the cast to sing during the final curtain
call,” she says. “An actor talk-back ses-
sion can often be arranged as well.”
To learn more, contact Huffine at
[email protected] or go to
riversidedt.com.
Christmas in
Fairmount Park
Upcoming show schedule
at the Riverside Center
Here is the theater’s main stage schedule
for the rest of this season, as well as the
dates for the 2018–19 season:
2017
“Riverside Christmas Spectacular,”
Nov. 29–Dec. 31
2018
“MAMMA MIA!,” Jan. 10–March 4
“The Hunchback of Notre Dame,”
March 14–May 6
“Always…Patsy Cline,” May 16–July 15
“A Chorus Line,” July 25–Sept. 16
Book Today
philamuseum.org/groupvisits
215-684-7863
54
November 2017
“Rockabilly Christmas,” Dec. 5–31
2019
“La Cage aux Folles,” Jan. 9–March 3
“The Color Purple,” March 13–May 5
Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,”
Sept. 26–Nov. 25