Riverside Center for the Performing Arts — Attraction in Fredericksburg

Today we attended the Christmas Extravaganza. I am giving a 1 star, as we had the meal option. Our party ordered cordon bleu and pot roast. As the cordon bleu was served we were told the chef apologizes as it is not as tender as he would like. It was extremely dry. The pot roast came with no warning. On the plates, besides the main dish, it comes with mashed potatoes (boiled potatoes with the skins, saturated in butter, and salt) green beans, then your pot roast. My pot roast, the 1st 2 bites were fatty. The 3rd bite tasted very rare. I looked closer and the meat was very rare. I had 4 pieces of potato, and 3 pieces of celery. They had just been chopped up and tossed in. They were not even warm. I let the servers know but the response was I will let the chef know. I ate the extremely buttery and salty boiled and mashed potatoes and fed the remainder to others at the table. By the time I arrived at my sons house, where I am visiting from out of state, I was nauseous and took medicine. I sipped ginger ale, and nibbled on a cracker. I am hoping not to puke. I keep burping salad, butter and tea. I only ate 1/2 the salad because it had a large chunk of lettuce core in it. The show. I was falling asleep listening to the guy talking before the show for 17 minutes. Put that in a newsletter or take out a ad in the paper etc. Bring on the show. I'm not paying to hear you talk. The first half of the show...I was confused...am I seeing a show or did I step back in time and go to my childhood church. Only 3 numbers in the 1st half woke me when falling asleep. The river dance number, All I want for Christmas is you, and the nutcracker number. I understand some songs are slow like I'm Dreaming of a white Christmas etc. But mix it up. I should not be falling asleep due to boredom. It was great to see people still tap dance. The ballerina doesn't need so many solos. Yes, there is a lot of talent. But it really wasn't showcased. There were w really good males singing that shined. The one older African American and the young man who sang all be home for Christmas. But there were other songs he sang parts to that were better. There were two older women one that was looking for Santa, and the one with white hair. While others sang well they often loved key and sang too high. Yes, the ones you showcased. Fredericksburg is a big small town. They're lots of talented people, but match them to the best songs that go with their voices. This will prevent singing off key, and sing at an appropriate range. I wasn't expecting Broadway! But I was expecting more than a long winded principal, middle school skits and a iffy...

We just watched Beautiful! Carole King Musical! Scored as a 4 for an average but it really needs 2 scores. First the musical should be a 4-4.5 it was absolutely entertaining, the actors were amazing, singing was great, they were also the staff and our waitress did a great job. The food....well....thats a 1. Eat before you go. My salad was missing, I was brought out a half salad with one tomato, no carrot or dressing-it was sad looking like they threw it together and ran it out to me. We couldn't get anyone so (sorry) my hubby switched my salad for one off another table...the salads just sit on the tables until you arrive. The rolls were hard on the outside-over cooked. The egg roll appetizer was good but obviously cooked from frozen. I had the ravioli and that was just no good-bland and very little ravioli, the first bite the top was very hard and dry. The waitress offered something else so I got the chicken and biscuits which was basically a version of chicken pot pie but no pie...it came out cold-not even warm...waitress said microwave was broke and she doesn't know what to do with it but she will find out. She came back and said she microwaved it for a minute. I thought it was broken? Anyways...the microwaved chicken and biscuits was very good microwaved compared to the ravioli, it was a huge portion even though it looked like someone just threw it on the plate. All the plating was horrible. My kid had the chicken with parmesan and spaghetti with green beans which the waitress did warn it is a bit dry usually...that was so very true but the spaghetti sauce it came with is literally a can of tomato sauce and no seasoning. The carrot cake was still frozen and like a hockey puck, dry -overcooked and looked like someone had bitten or scooped a fork into it, my kids cheesecake was such a tiny slice and wasn't good either. I do love their plays but we will be skipping the meals from now on. The decor is outdated and is in need of a remodel. The owners need to put some money into it….if you build it they will come lol ….Definitely do something...

This little place is celebrating 25 years of performances. Wow, what an amazing night with my sister. This little venue is a perfect place for an evening with someone special. She took me to the Riverside Dinner theater to see RAGTIME on the stage. I don't remember the movie moving me with so much emotion as tonight's performance did. The voices and performances of Jacquez Linder–Long who played the main character Coalhouse Walker Jr and his stage partner Nicole Vanessa Ortiz who played Sarah brought me to tears. I can't even describe the amazing sound of their voices. Adrianne Hick as Mother, Jarrett Bloom as the younger brother, and Alan Hoffman as a Jewish immigrant all performed with such conviction and heart felt emotion that they took you back in time. The problem is this musical is set in a time period almost 120 years ago yet the ignorance , prejudice, limitations, and cruelty still remain in our society today. This performance clearly and dramatically showed that in stage with such amazing talent. This was a perfect evening with someone I admire and love. In addition to a fabulous show we had dinner at this theater before the performance. The food choices are always fabulous. It's a 3 course meal and drink with an option to order an appetizer and/or cocktails. The food is freshly prepared. Our waitress Nikia was amazing and she was also a star performer. I would highly recommend anyone to check out this place for themselves. Unfortunately we are unable to take photos of the performance and for this particular show the was no photo opportunity with the cast. The pre-dinner piano playing in the lobby was outstanding and beautiful by since amazing...