PERFORMING ARTS
A behind-the-scenes look at the making of a
production at Vero Beach’s Riverside Theatre
In the orchestra pit for every show, Ken Clifton, Riverside Theatre’s musical
director, is both conductor and musician and that’s only one aspect of his
musical contributions to Riverside’s productions.
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here are stretches during the busy season
when Ken Clifton, musical director at Riverside
Theatre in Vero Beach, gets up at 4 a.m. It’s the only
time he can revise the score of an upcoming show like
West Side Story, the classic musical Riverside presented
in an extended run Feb. 17 – Mar. 15. Clifton takes a score
written for 30 instruments and reduces it to work for 10.
That’s the number of musicians and instruments that will fit
in Riverside’s orchestra pit. Through infinite care and countless
hours, he duplicates the lush sound of a much larger
orchestra for every show at Riverside. Using a recording is
simply not an option. This is live theater with live music.
But why do it at four in the morning? At 10 a.m. Clifton
goes into rehearsals with the West Side Story cast and at 8
p.m. he’s in the orchestra pit, conducting the band and playing
the piano for the final week of Crazy for You.
That’s a little piece of how the magic gets into Riverside’s
first-rate theater. More and more, Treasure Coast residents are
coming to see everything Riverside’s got. Take the last Thurs-
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It’s an opening night tradition for an elated cast and crew to pose for photos on Riverside Theatre’s broad stairs. Front and center are the show’s stars, Drew
Nellesen (white shirt) and Abby Church (navy with orange) with Ken Clifton, Riverside’s musical director, left of Nellesen.