Although Riverside Theatre won’t be starting this coming season’s productions until January, seven months from now, if you wish to get a seat in the audience for what promises to be another spectacular year, you might want to purchase your tickets well in advance. Season ticket renewals were sent out earlier this year, and since individual tickets went on sale July 7, the box office has been inundated with requests.
“We’re thrilled,” says Oscar Sales, Riverside’s marketing director. “But we’re not surprised.
When we opened the Comedy Zone at the end of May last year, we saw there were a lot of people who wanted to come enjoy comedy and music again. We had a lot of people asking when the theater was opening again.”
When they do show up, Riverside devotees will see a theater entirely ready to welcome audiences back. Indeed, the organization has been focused on making this season’s set designs among the most beautiful ones yet.
That says a lot for a professional theater rightfully known for creating exquisite theatrical productions that frequently cost $1.5 million per show.
They knock it out of the park every time, says Carol Buhl, one of Riverside’s generous and enthusiastic Patron Producers, whose annual donations of $10,000 or more enable Riverside to produce such excellent big-budget Broadway shows.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Buhl says. “The scenery is magnificent. There’s always something special going on.”
She credits the sense of teamwork among Riverside’s staff for the theater’s beautiful productions. And, while many theaters around the world needed to let staff go or furlough them during the pandemic closures, Riverside kept its staff working.
Doing so not only helped employees, it also enabled the theater to have the staff work on shows far ahead of time. It gave the backstage crews a unique opportunity to build the scenery, erect it on stage and make necessary final touches in advance.
Already, the theater design and construction crew is nearly finished building all the scenery for the season’s main-stage productions. Sitting behind the theater are four 53-foot trailers that currently store the complete sets for four shows. Two more trailers will be added to store the final show sets that the crew will be building. Staffers take a peek at the scenery now and then to make sure it all remains in good condition.
“We are about a year in advance,” says Dan Kondas, the theater’s production manager. “We hope in the future our scenery will stay a year ahead.”
As the production manager, Kondas sits in on early design and planning sessions. And, while he doesn’t engage in artistic decision-making, he does take charge of the logistics, making sure that Riverside’s reputation for high-quality productions is maintained, while also staying within the budget.
Kondas says that the next season is looking “fantastic.” Here’s a little sneak peek of what you can expect to see on Riverside Theatre’s Stark and Waxlax stages beginning in January.
The Stark Stage:
“Carousel” by Rodgers & Hammerstein, Jan. 4-23, 2022
This classical musical will be directed and designed by Allen D. Cornell, Riverside’s producing artistic director and CEO. “The plan is to be as impressive as Riverside can be,” Kondas says. “Romantic elegance is a major focus for Allen; to come back and warm everybody’s heart.”
“A Comedy of Tenors” by Ken Ludwig, Feb. 1-20, 2022
This is a madcap farce set in 1930’s Paris, where one elegant hotel suite is the background for four tenors, two wives and three girlfriends. It is designed by Michael Schweikardt (“Evita”). “This is going to be a beautiful show,” Kondas says. “Hand-painted wallpaper, a curving staircase, beautiful chandeliers; it’s very rich.”
“On Your Feet!” by Emilio & Gloria Estefan, March 8-27, 2022
Kondas describes this story about the life of Gloria Estefan as being filled with Latin beats and a lot of energy. The show is a co-production with Philadelphia’s venerable Walnut Street Theatre and is designed by Regina Garcia. “There will be a fountain,” he says. “And there will be stage magic, but it’s not very magical if everybody knows what it is.”
“Billy Elliot: The Musical” by Elton John and Lee Hall, April 12 to May 1, 2022
This is the award-winning inspirational musical of a young boy whose passion for dancing pits him against the culture of his northern England mining town home. Here, Schweikardt uses minimalist scenic elements to bring a large cast of dancers and the audience into many spaces “You’re going to have 30 people dancing at one point. They take up a lot of space, so you can’t have a lot of scenery muddying the waters.”
“Almost Heaven: Songs of John Denver” by Harold Thou, May 10-29, 2022
Riverside reverses course and ends its season with a musical revue. Here, that will be the beautiful music of John Denver, who had more than 25 chart-topping hits, including “Rocky Mountain High” and “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” Cornell creates the scenic design here.
The Waxlax Stage:
“I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” by Joe DiPietro and Jimmy Roberts, Jan. 18 to Feb. 6, 2022
This fun show is one of Off-Broadway’s longest-running musicals. Now updated, it takes audiences on a humorous, musical and touching ride into the lives of lovers, husbands, wives, in-laws and just about anyone who has ever been in a romantic relationship. The look here, designed by Emily Luongo, will be more high-concept, Kondas says, with generic set pieces.
“Bakersfield Mist” by Stephen Sachs, March 22 to April 10, 2022
A smart comedy set in a Bakersfield trailer park, where a world-class art expert visits an unemployed bartender who believes she has a Jackson Pollock masterpiece. Cornell designs this show, which originally had been slotted for the previous season. “This is a realistic setting,” Kondas said. “There’s a lot of stuff we scavenged from trailers, like (trailer) windows and shag carpets. It’s a time capsule.”
Stark Stage individual tickets start at $45; subscriptions start at $180. Waxlax Stage individual tickets are $65; there are no subscription tickets available, but Stark Stage season ticket holders can get Waxlax Stage tickets for $52. All tickets can be purchased by calling the Box Office at 772-231-6990 or online at www.RiversideTheatre.com. The box office will be closed to walk-up transactions until further notice. Riverside Theatre is at 3250 Riverside Park Dr., Vero Beach.
