Music, murder and mystery. Riverside Theatre’s 2025-26 season has it all, with four musicals on the Stark Main Stage, and two plays in the Waxlax Theatre.
Jon Moses, Riverside’s executive producer/CEO, explains that shows are chosen based on feedback from the staff, audiences, board members and donors.
“We always try to create a composite to ensure that everyone’s going to support it.”
The season kicks off Oct. 16 to Nov. 9 with the comedic rock musical “Little Shop of Horrors” on the Stark Main Stage.
This campy cult classic centers on Seymour, a shy florist shop worker, Audrey, the pretty object of his desire, Audrey II, an outlandish carnivorous plant with a thirst for blood, and a sadistic dentist thrown in for good measure.
“For those who haven’t heard of it, it’s just a lot of sci-fi fun. The piece has a dark side, obviously, but it’s lighthearted. It’s a love story with a sci-fi classic horror twist to it,” says Moses.
Running Jan. 9 to Feb. 1 on the Stark Stage is “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder,” winner of four Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
‘It’s a tale of a member of the D’Ysquith family – meant to sound like dies quick – trying to climb his way to the top of the inheritance tree by bumping off the others,” says Moses.
“And there’s a mystery to it, because there are certain things that you don’t find out until the end about who did what. So it has that whole classic whodunit kind of feel to it.”
From Feb. 3-22 on the Waxlax Stage is “Mauritius,” a comedic thriller about various individuals eager to get their hands on a stamp collection that includes two potentially valuable Mauritius Post Office stamps.
“It is all about is it real, is it authentic?” says Moses. “So that has a little bit of a mystery to it.”
Running Feb. 26 to March 22 on the Stark Stage is the multiple award-winning rock opera “Jesus Christ Superstar.”
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice initially composed the music for an album, staging its first presentation as an oratorio-style concert. The famed musical, which explores the final week of Jesus’ life, took the world by storm after it debuted on Broadway in 1971.
“It will have a cast of 24 in it. That’ll be the largest cast this year,” says Moses.
From March 24 to April 12 the Waxlax Stage will showcase “Almost, Maine.” The romantic comedy is set in the small, fictional town of Almost, against the mystical backdrop of the aurora borealis.
“It is a series of nine really sweet vignettes between two men and two women; two younger and two older. Their tales just sort of cycle through,” says Moses.
Running April 16 to May 10 on the Stark Stage, the final show of the season is “9 to 5 The Musical,” with music and lyrics by Dolly Parton who had starred in the hit movie with Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda.
“That’s a fairly big cast too, 18 to 20. And it features those three classic female characters who plot revenge against their boss,” says Moses, who is enthusiastic about the upcoming season.
“A lot of the shows are familiar, but we haven’t done them. And with the exception of ‘Superstar,’ which is more dramatic, the shows have a lot of fun to them. I think there’s a lot of good escape, which we probably all need right now.”
Describing the extensive process in selecting actors for their productions, Moses says the initial phase entails having the casting director review thousands of submissions.
“They go through those submissions based on feedback from the directors as to the type of person they’re looking for; from height to vocal range, and then, of course, experience,” says Moses.
Once those are whittled down to the top three or four choices for each part, they spend the next couple of days on callbacks.
“We bring those top choices in and finalize it down to our first choice and then backups. It’s a long process and long days, because it’s a lot of repetition. It’s hearing different people, different voices, saying the same parts and singing the same song over and over and over, so that you can get the comparison,” says Moses.
“To me, it’s always exciting to see the variety of artists who are coming through, trying to make a living doing this, and how passionate they are.”
Auditions occur at Pearl Studios in New York City, which is bursting with rooms being used for auditions or rehearsals, including for Broadway shows.
“There’s so much happening simultaneously. And the actors in the hallways; some are there to rehearse, some are there to audition. You actually run into colleagues, sometimes actors and individuals you haven’t seen in years. So it’s like a hub of creativity that everybody congregates to,” says Moses.
Casts are generally selected four to six weeks in advance, he explains. Too soon or too late and you might lose them to another show. Fortunately, Riverside has gained a reputation for quality, including its amenities. And heading to Vero Beach in the winter helps too.
“We’re in that category where we are a top choice for most actors, and the only thing that usually beats us out is if they get a national tour, which could be weeks of work, or Broadway. That’s our competition at this point,” says Moses.
In another bit of exciting news, Riverside has hired Chef Sue Torres to be their own in-house executive chef. Torres spent decades at top restaurants in New York City, and in Vero as the catering chef at the Tides and her own business, Chef Sue Torres Cooks.
“She’s been operating it here now for two weeks and it’s a wonderful menu. The feedback is wonderful,” says Moses.
They hope to offer small fine dining experiences at a community table in the lobby prior to most of the performances, thematic to the play. The new menu will also be available at Live in the Loop and the Comedy Zone.
For more information, visit RiversideTheatre.com.
Photos by Joshua Kodis
