NEWS RELEASE

Riverside Theatre is excited to announce its 2014-2015 Season. Building on the success and support the theatre has received over the last few years, Riverside is proud to present another ambitious season of music, comedy, and drama.

“We were able to garner the rights to these wonderful shows early and could not wait to share them with those who have given us support and encouragement,” says Allen D. Cornell, Riverside Theatre’s Producing Artistic Director. “It’s a great group of fun and entertaining shows that will delight our audiences.”

The season begins in October with a wonderful musical showcasing the songs of 1960’s, 70’s, and 80’s with The Bikinis. January brings the high-energy and delightful music or George and Ira Gershwin with Crazy For You. The next production on the Stark Stage is the legendary musical, West Side Story and the season concludes with a new Broadway smash hit, Memphis. Two distinctive theatre pieces play on the Waxlax Stage: Underneath the Lintel in January and Side By Side By Sondheim in March.

“Six dynamic productions will fill our stages over the course of the coming season. Six productions that we feel will continue to amaze and delight everyone who shares the Riverside experience with us,” says Mr. Cornell.

Subscriptions are now available. For more information on prices and subscription options, call the Box Office at 772-231-6990 or online at http://www.riversidetheatre.com.

The Season:

The Bikinis

Created and Written by Ray Roderick and James Hindman
Music Arrangements by Joseph Baker
Additional Music and Lyrics by Joseph Baker and Ray Roderick

October 28 – November 16, 2014

Performances take place on the Stark Stage

Back together after 20 years, a girl group from the Jersey Shore reunites to raise money for the good folks at Sandy Shores Mobile Home Beach Resort. Reliving their heyday from the summer of ’64, these four inseparable friends, who won the Belmar Beach Talent Contest wearing just their bikinis, offer a nonstop celebration of song from their early days through the next two decades. Featuring the hits “It’s In His Kiss,” “Yellow Polka Dot Bikini,” “Heat Wave,” “Under The Boardwalk,” “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’,” “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” “Look What They’ve Done To My Song,” “When Will I Be Loved,” “I’m Every Woman,” “I Will Survive,”and “It’s Raining Men,” The Bikinis is a musical beach party!

 

Crazy for You

Music & Lyrics by George Gershwin & Ira Gershwin
Book by Ken Ludwig

January 13 – February 1, 2015

Performances take place on the Stark Stage

George and Ira Gershwin’s musical comedy hit is full of classic songs and thrilling dance numbers. When Broadway hopeful Bobby Child heads to Deadrock, Nevada to escape an overzealous fiancee and foreclose on an abandoned theater, he discovers love, life and tap dancing in the desert. Winner of three Tony Awards including Best Musical, this dynamic musical’s dazzling score includes “I Got Rhythm,” “Someone To Watch Over Me,” “Embraceable You,” “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” and many more!

 

Underneath the Lintel

By Glen Berger

January 22 – February 8, 2015

Performances take place on the Waxlax Stage

On an inauspicious morning at a Dutch library, a librarian makes an unexpected find in the overnight return box – a weather-beaten Baedeker guidebook 113 years overdue. Determined to track down the borrower and give him “the fine of his life,” the librarian studies the book for clues on the miscreant and follows the leads on a globe-trotting journey that takes him from London to China, from Australia to New York. Throughout his trek, he unlocks ancient mysteries and discovers insteresting truths about himself. Funny, touching, and surprising, this compelling adventure by Glen Berger is storytelling at its best.

 

West Side Story

Book by Arthur Laurents
Music by Leonard Bernstein
Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

February 17 – March 8, 2015

Performances take place on the Stark Stage

The ground-breaking, landmark musical, West Side Story tells the tale of two star-crossed lovers from different worlds who fight to keep their passion alive. Based on one of the greatest love stories of all time – Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet – West Side Story is powerful and poignant, with a score considered to be one of Broadway’s finest. From first note to final breath, West Side Story soars with classics “Something’s Coming,” “Tonight,” “America,” “I Feel Pretty,” and “Somewhere.”

 

Side By Side By Sondheim

Music by  Stephen Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein, Jule Styne, Richard Rodgers and Mary Rodgers
Lyrics by  Stephen Sondheim
Continuity by  Ned Sherrin

March 10 – 22, 2015

Performances take place on the Waxlax Stage

The sophistication, wit, insight, heart and genius of Broadway’s most innovative and influential artist is at the center of this stunning tribute to composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim. This dazzling array of some of Sondheim’s best-known songs features numbers from landmark shows that revolutionized musical theatre: Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way To the Forum, and Pacific Overtures. This stunning review also includes classics written with musical theatre giants Leonard Bernstein, Jule Styne, and Richard Rodgers on the shows West Side Story, Gypsy and Do I hear a Waltz?

 

Memphis

Music by David Bryan

Lyrics by David Bryan and Joe DiPietro

Book by Joe DiPietro

April 7– 26, 2015

Performances take place on the Stark Stage

Winner of four 2010 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Memphis is the rollicking new musical that took Broadway by storm. Set in the 1950’s and revolving around the nightclubs, radio stations, and recording studios of the town, Memphis tells the fictional story of DJ Huey Calhoun, a good ole’ local boy with a passion for R&B music and Felicia Farrell, an up-and-coming singer from the clubs. Despite the objections of their loved ones, they embark on a dangerous affair. As their careers rise, their relationship is challenged by personal ambition and the pressures of their forbidden love. With electryfying musical and dance numbers, Memphis delivers a rousing evening of theatre. (Riverside is honored to join forces with one of the most prestigious theatre companies in America, Philadelphia’s Walnut Street Theatre, for this production.)

Riverside Theatre is located at 3250 Riverside Park Drive, Vero Beach. Riverside Theatre programs are sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Riverside Theatre is a member of the Cultural Council of Indian River County.