Category Archives: theatre news

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‘The Marriage of Figaro’ Closes Opera Omaha’s Season

Omaha, NE. – Opera Omaha will conclude its 2022-2023 Mainstage Season with a production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro.

The Marriage of Figaro is beloved, one of the world’s most popular and frequently performed operas. Mix-ups, mistaken identities, and secrets fly fast through this iconic tale of love, seduction, and guile. Omaha favorites conductor Steven White (Eugene Onegin, Opera Under the Stars, Faust) and director Dean Anthony (Opera Under the Stars) will join forces once again to lead a stunning cast including Sidney Outlaw in his Opera Omaha debut as Figaro, with Vanessa Becerra (Les Enfants Terribles, Medea) as Susanna, his betrothed.

Friday, March 31, 2023 | 7:30 pm Sunday, April 2, 2023 | 2:00 pm

CREDITS

Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte

CONDUCTOR | Steven White
DIRECTOR | Dean Anthony

CAST

Figaro | Sidney Outlaw*

Susanna | Vanessa Becerra

Count Almaviva | Michael Adams

Countess Almaviva | Mary Feminear

Cherubino | Kristen Choi

Marcellina | Victoria Livengood

Dr. Bartolo | Rod Nelman

Don Basilio/Don Curzio | Graham Brooks*

Antonio | Matthew Sommer

Barbarina | Karina Brazas

*Opera Omaha Debut

TICKETS AND INFORMATION

Single tickets for Opera Omaha’s 2022/23 Season are priced from $19 to $99.

Visit www.ticketomaha.com for further details or call Ticket Omaha’s Box Office at (402) 345-0606. Ticket Omaha’s Box Office is open Monday through Friday 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

Opera Omaha performances are held at the Orpheum Theater located at 409 S. 16th Street.

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‘The Chinese Lady’ Coming to BlueBarn

Omaha, NE–Brought from Guangzhou in 1834 as an “exotic oddity” The Chinese Lady follows the true story of the first woman from China to enter America. Afong Moy is paraded around for the American public to indulge their voyeuristic curiosities by delivering a performance of her “ethnicity.” Over the course of 55 years, Afong Moy begins to challenge her views of herself, her culture in the hands of others, and her disconnect from her homeland while grappling with her search for her own identity in America.

Venue: BlueBarn Theatre (1106 S 10th St, Omaha, NE)
Ticket Prices: $37 (Tickets can be purchased at www.bluebarn.org)
Show Dates: Mar 30-April 22 (Showtimes are Thurs-Sat at 7:30pm and Sundays at 2pm. April 16th performance will be held at 6pm)

Directed by: Wai Yim

Cast
Lisa Tejero as Afong Moy
Jimmy Nguyen as Atung

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Enjoy ‘A Little Night Music’ at Bellevue Little Theatre

Bellevue, NE–Set in 1900 Sweden, A Little Night Music explores the tangled web of affairs centered around actress, Desirée Armfeldt, and the men who love her: a lawyer by the name of Fredrik Egerman and the Count Carl-Magnus Malcom. When the traveling actress performs in Fredrik’s town, the estranged lovers’ passion rekindles. This strikes a flurry of jealousy and suspicion between Desirée; Fredrik; Fredrick’s wife, Anne; Desirée’s current lover, the Count; and the Count’s wife, Charlotte. Both men – as well as their jealous wives – agree to join Desirée and her family for a weekend in the country at Desirée’s mother’s estate. With everyone in one place, infinite possibilities of new romances and second chances bring endless surprises.

Dates: Mar 10-26, 2023
Showtimes: Fri-Sat at 7:30pm. Sundays at 2pm.

Ticket Prices

Adults $25
Seniors $20
Students $15

Tickets can be purchased at www.theblt.org or calling 402-413-8945.

Venue: Bellevue Little Theatre (203 W Mission Ave, Bellevue, NE)

Directed by: Todd Uhrmacher
Musical Direction by: D. Laureen Pickle

Cast

Fredrika Armfeldt- Amanda Pelley

Madame Armfeldt- Sherry Josand Fletcher

Anne Egerman- Chloe Rosman

Petra- Suzanne Birnley

Desiree Armfeldt- Heather Wilhelm

Countess Charlotte Malcom- Jodi Vaccaro

Malla and Osa- Jenny Cupak-Carroll and Aimee Correa

Ladies Maid- Elizabeth Planck

Henrik Egerman- Rider Mattheis

Fredrik Egerman- Jack Zerbe

Count Carl Magnus- Malcom- Scott Van Den Top

Bertland- Elliot Kerkhofs

Frid- Eric Henery-Cavanaugh

Liebeslieders-

Mrs. Andersson – Kate Simmons

Mrs. Olsson – Samantha Shatley

Mrs. Segstrom – Emily Peklo

Mrs. Karlsson- Phyllis Cremonini

Mrs. Nordstrom – Brooke Lewis

Mr. Gustafsson – Tim Pagett

Mr. Lindquist – John Arnsdorff

Mr. Erlanson – Chris Latta

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Theatre Lawrence Announces 2023-2024 Season

Theatre Lawrence Proudly Announces 2023-2024 Season

CROWNS

Adapted by Regina Taylor from a book of the same name

A moving and celebratory musical play in which hats become a springboard for an exploration of black history and identity. In the show, a young black woman comes to stay with relatives after her brother is killed.  Weaving together faith, fashion and family, CROWNS traces the tradition of hats back to African rituals and forward to current fashion. Filled with gospel music and a little rap, the show pulses with energy and was hailed by the New York Times as “a show that seems to arise out of spontaneous combustion…”

SEPTEMBER 22, 23, 24 ; 28, 29, 30 |  OCTOBER 1

THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW

Book, Music and Lyrics by Richard O’Brien  

The original kitsch rock ‘n’ roll sci-fi gothic musical returns!  The cult classic deals with mutating identity and time warps, as innocents Brad and Janet meet a houseful of wild characters as they sing and dance their way to Frank-N-Furter’s latest creation.

OCTOBER 26, 27, 28

A CHRISTMAS STORY, THE MUSICAL

Book by Joseph Robinette | Music and lyrics by Benj Pask and Justin Paul

Based on the Warner Brothers movie and the book by Jean Shepherd  

The perennial Christmas favorite! Set in the 1940’s, the musical follows 9-year-old Ralphie Parker and his quest for the Holy Grail of Christmas gifts—an Official Red Ryder BB gun. Watch for the tongue stuck to the flagpole; the snowsuit; the bullies, the leg lamp award; the bunny suit; the Christmas dinner, and other iconic moments.

DECEMBER 1, 2, 3; 7, 8, 9, 10; 14, 15, 16, 17

DEAD MAN’S CELL PHONE

A dramatic comedy by Sarah Ruhl

An incessantly ringing cell phone in a quiet café. A stranger at the next table who has had enough. And a dead man – with a lot of loose ends. `A wildly imaginative new story about how we memorialize the dead – and how that remembering changes us, as we confront assumptions about morality, redemption, and the need to connect in a technologically obsessed world

JANUARY 19, 20, 21; 25, 26, 27, 28

AGATHA CHRISTIE’S A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED

A mystery by Agatha Christie | Adapted by Leslie Darbon

An announcement in the local paper states the time and place of an imminent murder.  When an unknown visitor to Miss Blacklock’s Victorian home dies under the prescribed circumstances, Miss Marple turns up to solve the case in a classic Christie puzzle of mixed motives, concealed identities, twists and turns.

MARCH 1, 2, 3; 7, 8, 9, 10

I HATE HAMLET

A comedy by Paul Rudnick    

A young and successful television actor relocates to New York where he is offered the opportunity to play Hamlet onstage. The problem: He Hates Hamlet. His dilemma deepens with the entrance of John Barrymore’s ghost, who arrives intoxicated and in full costume to the apartment that once was his. The contrast between the two actors leads to a wildly funny duel over women, art, success, duty, television, and the apartment. 

APRIL 19, 20, 21; 25, 26, 27, 28

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF

Book by Joseph Stein | Music by Jerry Bock | Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick

A musical theatre tradition! This is a tale of Tevye and his family in a changing Russia. The plight of traditional values in the face of changing social mores and ethnic prejudice cuts across barriers of race, class, nationality and religion to touch audiences on a universal level with laughter, sadness and joy.

JUNE 7, 8, 9; 13, 14, 15, 16; 20, 21, 22, 23  

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GPTC to Present Staged Reading of ‘Old Bat’

Having lived through a fire, a plague and a war, a desperate woman hunts for treasure on a mythological island populated by monsters, heroes and storytellers.This time she may not survive.

Omaha, NE–After a month of developmental rehearsals with a full cast, director, designer, and dramaturg, the Great Plains Theatre Commons (GPTC), in partnership with the Benson Theatre, will hold a public reading of local playwright, Ellen Struve’s, new play, Old Bat. March 23rd and 24th at 7:30pm at the Benson Theatre (6054 Maple St, Omaha, NE). Tickets are available for free.

For reservations and more information just head to gptcplays.com.

Synopsis

In league with a hero, Kira hunts for an unknown treasure guarded by a nymph and a cyclops. She is an ordinary woman beset by extraordinary times. She’s survived a fire, a plague, and a war and is driven by her child’s survival. Finding the treasure is as difficult as finding her place in these ancient stories. She enlists the help of the elements, betrays her companions, and is betrayed and discovers the need for transformation.

Written by: Ellen Struve

Directed by: Amy Lane

Cast: AJ Adhiambo, Francisco Franco, Nils Haaland, Haley Haas, Moira Mangiameli & Dennis Stessman

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Bellevue Little Theatre Announces Auditions for ‘Girls Weekend’

Bellevue Little Theatre Proudly Announces Auditions for:

Girls Weekend

Auditions will be February 26 & 27 at 7:00pm
Both nights at Bellevue Dance Academy (2264 Franklin St, Bellevue, NE)
Callbacks may take place on February 28​
Production will run weekends May 5-21
​Rehearsals to start in March

Click here for audition form. Please bring it with you to the audition.

Synopsis

​In this lightning-quick farce, four women travel to Dot’s Northwoods cabin to consume copious amounts of wine, laugh at their lives, trade stories and chat about their book club’s latest selection. However, after the third case of wine comes through the door, it becomes clear there will be more stewing than reviewing. Carol, who is monitoring her temperature for the best “window of opportunity” to get pregnant, gets a ride to the cabin from her husband, Rick, who is hoping the “time is right” for a quick tryst. She sends him home, frustrated, in a snowstorm, only to discover that her temperature shows she IS ready, and calls him to drive back and hide out in a shed until she can sneak him in with a special porchlight signal. Meg, recently widowed, is having a secret affair with Dot’s son, only to find he has shown up at the cabin unexpectedly and wants to further their relationship in stealth. Meg sends him to hide in a boathouse until he sees her special porchlight signal and the coast is clear to rejoin her in the cabin. Ellie, the youngest and Meg’s daughter, would rather not be a part of the weekend with her “elders” and meets a young townie, inviting him to hide out in a barn. When he sees her special porchlight signal, he climbs into her bedroom window and sneaks her out to a local bar after the other ladies retire. The only obstacle to each of the ladies’ secret endeavors is Dot, who wants to stay up all night and party with the girls. So they make sure they ply her with plenty of party favors, and Dot proceeds to pass out. The ladies move Dot’s lifeless body from floor to closet to room, as the bottles tip up, the secrets spill out and the men sneak in. The madcap, door-slamming chaos comes to a head when Dot wakes up and discovers her girls’ weekend is full of men!

Roles

Dot: 50-60 something. Orchestrates the weekend. Has a 30-something year old son, Stephen
Meg: 40s. Dating Stephen. has a 20-something year old daughter, Ellie
Carol: 30s. Trying to have a baby with her husband, Rick
Ellie: 20s. Single. Free spirit. Doesn’t really want to be there
Stephen: 30s. Dot’s son. In a relationship with Meg
Rick: 30s. Carol’s Husband
Sheriff Tom Lane: 30s. Divorced. Newly elected
​Bubba: 20s. Townie. Went to college with Ellie. Currently working for his dad.

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‘Murder On the Orient Express’ is Making a Stop at Theatre Lawrence

Lawrence, KS–Just after midnight, a snowdrift stops the Orient Express. By morning the luxurious train is one passenger fewer. An American tycoon lies dead in his compartment, stabbed eight times, his door locked from the inside. Isolated and with a killer in their midst, the passengers rely on detective Hercule Poirot to identify the murderer – in case he or she decides to strike again.

A stunning night of murder, mystery, and intrigue is in store for you when one of the finest whodunnits ever written is brought to life in front of your eyes. Written by the legendary Agatha Christie and adapted for stage by the inestimable Ken Ludwig, Murder On the Orient Express promises to be as puzzling as it is entertaining. Tickets are available now at Theatre Lawrence for $30 and can be purchased by calling 785-843-SHOW, visiting the Box Office, or visiting wp.theatrelawrence.com. The show runs from Mar 3-12. Showtimes are Thurs-Sat at 7:30pm and Sundays at 2:30pm.

Murder On the Orient Express
Adapted by Ken Ludwig from a novel by Agatha Christie

Venue: Theatre Lawrence (4660 Bauer Farm Dr, Lawrence, KS 66049)

Directed by: Jessica Franz-Martin

Cast

Hercule Poirot…..Michael Juncker

Monsieur Bouc…..Richard Burt

Hector Macqueen…..Malachi Swedberg

Colonel Arbuthnot/Samuel Ratchett…..Dan Heinz

Michel the Conductor/Head Waiter…..Don Hires

Mary Debenham…..Emma Webster

Princess Dragomiroff…..Erica Baruth

Greta Ohlsson…..Laura Burt

Countess Andrenyi…..Abby Ilardi Lowry

Helen Hubbard…..Kelli Szrot

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‘Dreamgirls’ Coming Soon to OCP

Omaha, NE.– Dreamgirls opens at the Omaha Community Playhouse on Friday, March 3. A trio of women soul singers catch their big break during an amateur competition. But will their friendship—and their music—survive the rapid rise from obscurity to pop super stardom? With dazzling costumes and powerhouse vocal performances, this Tony and Grammy Award-winning musical is inspired by some of the biggest musical acts of the 1960s—The Supremes, The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson and more.

The show will run on the Hawks Mainstage from March 3 through March 26, with performances Wednesdays through Sundays. Tickets are on sale now, starting at $25, with prices varying by performance. Tickets may be purchased at the OCP Box Office, 6915 Cass St., Omaha, NE 68132, by phone at (402) 553-0800 or online at OmahaPlayhouse.com.

Directed by: Kathy Tyree
Musical Direction by: Justin Payne
Choreography by: Ray Mercer

Cast

Anthony Haynes – Marty

Justin Blackson – Curtis Taylor

Karissa Johnson – Deena Jones

Candace Gould – Lorrell Robinson

Zhomontee Watson – Effie White

Corbin Griffin – CC White

Jordan Willis – Jimmy Early

Monica Weber – Michelle Morris

Ensemble features talents of: Alicia Amedee, Michelle Bester, CynFranecia Brooks, Raymond Butler, Denzell Clements, Brannon Evans, Ashari Johnson, Kevin Jones, Alisa Moore, Shirleena Terrell, Nyarok Tot, Justin Tyree, and Nina Washington

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Community Players to Present ‘Murder On the Orient Express’

The ensemble of “Murder On the Orient Express” (L to R Back Row: Merle Jobman, Jenny Sutphin, Mark Geist, Dylan Warren, Morgan Fox, Ashley Hothan, Vicki Cain. L to R Front Row: Diane Kahnk, Zoe Tien, Scott Clark.)

Community Players Proudly Present:

Murder on the Orient Express
Adapted by Ken Ludwig from a novel by Agatha Christie

Directed by: Rachele Stoops

Venue: Community Players (412 Ella St, Beatrice, NE)
Show Dates: Feb 10-19, 2023
Showtimes: Fri-Sat at 7:30pm. Sundays at 2pm

Synopsis
On the snowbound Orient Express, an American tycoon lies dead in his locked train compartment. With a killer in their midst, detective Hercule Poirot must expose the murderer before tragedy strikes again! Thrills and laughs abound in Ken Ludwig’s adaptation of this classic mystery by Agatha Christie.

Tickets go on sale Jan 30, 2023 and can be purchased at www.beatricecommunityplayers.com.

Cast
Scott Clark as Hercule Poirot
Merle Jobman as Monsieur Bouc
Morgan Fox as Megan Debenham
Mark Geist as Col. Arbuthnot/Samuel Ratchett
Ashley Hothan as Greta Ohlsson
Diane Kahnk as Princess Dragomiroff
Jenny Sutphin as Countess A’ndrenyi
Zoe Tien as Helen Hubbard
Vicki Cain as Michele
Dylan Warren as MacQueen