The Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting for Riverside Dinner Theater in celebration of their 25th anniversary. The cast walked the red carpet and were joined by crew and staff at the ceremony that included a special showing of the current play, Margaritaville.
The center’s director, Patrick A’Hearn, thanked the community for its support during a ribbon-cutting and then his staff for all of their hard work and dedication, “this is Rvierside”, he said as he turned to the cast and crew. “I may be the face of the theater, but these are the people that do the hard work. They are the talent and behind the scenes, selling tickets and serving food. Don’t think for one minute it is just one person, it is all of us (them)”
The dinner theater markets itself as bringing Broadway to the Fredericksburg region. Some of the shows scheduled at the center in 2023 include “42nd Street,” “Ragtime,” “Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat,” and “Miracle on 34th Street.”
Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D, Va.-7) submitted a letter read aloud during the ceremony by one of the Congresswoman’s staff.
Tom Coen, a high school history and government teacher of the Stafford County Board of Supervisors, also spoke during the ceremony. “Not only does The Riverside bring Broadway to Stafford with hundreds of main stage productions, musicals, dramas, but also you support our community through youth programs, as you’ve heard, annual scholarships, said Coen.
The theater sits at 95 Riverside Parkway in Stafford County and combines 36,000 square feet of dinner theatre and conference facility. Over half a million patrons have experienced the enchantment of Riverside Center since 1998.