Platte River Bard Podcast

Marie Schuette, local Playwright and Creative, premieres her play "Stuck with Lemons" at the Shelterbelt Theatre February 13th-March 2nd.  We talked with Marie Schuette and the Director of this play, Amy Lane about the origins and development of this play that was created and brought to life here in Omaha!  

This play is a collaboration with Great Plains Theatre Commons and Shelterbelt Theatre!

The ASL Performance will be February 22nd.

There will not be a performance on February 23rd.

GPTC Night will be Wednesday, February 26th.

Shelterbelt Theatre Contact Info:

Tickets: https://www.shelterbelt.org/shelterbelt-box-office

Website: https://www.shelterbelt.org/

Location: 4383 Nicholas St STE 204, Omaha, NE 68131

Great Plains Theatre Commons Contact Info:

Website: https://www.gptcplays.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/GreatPlainsTheatreConference

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explore/locations/290461193/great-plains-theatre-commons/

"Misery" adapted by William Goldman (who also wrote "Princess Bride") is based on the novel by Stephen King. SNAP! Productions will open this production on February 7th and it will run through February 23rd.  This three-person show will entertain you with it's wacky and dark plot, as well as it's well-done fight scenes. 

We talked to Kaitlyn Rudeen who plays Annie Wilkes, Jeremy Earl who plays Paul Sheldon, and our own Chris Berger, who plays Sheriff Buster, and let them tell you why you should come see this psychological horror story!  You can even see this on Valentine's Day with your sweetheart!

ASL Interpreter Performance, February 16th

Industry Night (pay-what-you-can), Monday, February 17th 

CONTACT INFORMATION FOR SNAP! PRODUCTIONS

Snap Productions at Ghost Light Theatre is located at 2221 Thurston Circle, Bellevue, Nebraska.

Tickets can be purchased at: https://www.snapproductions.com

We talk with Actor Hannah Post and Director Mackenzie Zielke about their production, "The Girl on the Train" which opens January 31st at Bellevue Little Theatre. This is a suspenseful thriller was originally a book by Paula Hawkins and a New York Times Best Seller before it was a movie, and then a play adapted by Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel. If you like a suspenseful story, you'll enjoy this show!  Find out more on our podcast, and get your tickets now to help solve the case!

BELLEVUE LITTLE THEATRE CONTACT INFO:

Tickets: https://blt.simpletix.com/

Website: http://www.theblt.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bellevuelittletheatre/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bellevuelittletheatre/ 

203 Mission Avenue, Bellevue, Nebraska 

402.291.1554

The 19th Annual Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards (OEAA) Awards are here!  On February 16, 2025, the awards will be held at The Admiral Theater (admiralomaha.com/).  We have the scoop here for you about this prestigious Omaha tradition!

Find out why the OEAA puts on their awards, how the voting works, how the venue dictates the award show, and learn more about the theme for this year.  We talked with Board President, Doug Meigs, as well as Hughston Walkinshaw and Lori Lynn Ahrends, who are part of the Directing Team, and Board Member, Jedeka Poindexter.  Listen to the podcast to find out what all they had to share!

Get your tickets now at: www.oea-awards.org/ 

(Nominees, make sure you get your password for discounted tickets also by contacting the OEAA.)

A special Thank You to the Pottawattamie Arts Cultural Entertainment (PACE Arts Iowa) for hosting our podcast!  You can find PACE at www.paceartsiowa.org.

It’s January 20th, 2025!  And we have the scoop of the year!  Opera Omaha has announced their 2025-2026 season effective today, January 20th, and we have all the information here to share it with you!

We talk with Allison Swenson, General Director and Katrina Thurman the Director of Artistic Administration about all of the exciting line-up of productions! Their new season has subscriptions beginning at $38, which is basically 2 for 1 price!

We also talked about the events coming up that lead up to their new season and had an enjoyable conversation about each of them!

OPERA OMAHA CONTACT INFO: 

Website & Tickets: www.operaomaha.org 

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/operaomaha/

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/operaomaha/

Twitter:https://twitter.com/operaomaha

You Tube:  https://www.youtube.com/user/operaomaha

Opera Omaha, 1850 Farnam Street, Omaha, NE 402.346.7372

The Barber of Seville is licensed under Creative Commons  through musopen.org. https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

The Lied Center for Performing Arts and the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra will be celebrating the music of "RENT" with their performance of "RENT In Concert" on January 18th, 2025!  We had learned there are incredibly talented young Nebraska performers that will be part of this fun production and we wanted to share a few of those with you! 

We spoke to Elise Anderson, Will Hastreiter, and Samara Follette, who are local performers involved in this production!  

Will Hastreiter is from Elkhorn, NE and graduated from Midland University.  He has appeared in Omaha community theatres and even a production at the Suncoast Broadway Dinner Theatre in Hudson, Florida. We will even get to see Will on stage at "The Wild Party" at the BLUEBARN Theatre soon! 

Elise Anderson is a Lincoln native and is now a Junior at UNL and working on her Bachelor's of Arts in Vocal Performance.  She also wrote and produced a single called "Little Blondie" which you can find on You Tube, iTunes, Spotify and Pandora.  (Here is the Spotify link!)

Samara Follette was recently in attendance at the 2024 Jimmy Awards where she received The Rising Star Scholarship.  She attends Wesleyan University in Lincoln. This will be her first professional production as she brings her immense presence to the stage!  

Thank you to the Lied Center for Performing Arts for making Lincoln be one of the only cities in the US to welcome this new concert production!  "RENT In Concert" will be performed by these live vocalists, in partnership with the Lincoln's Symphony Orchestra.  This production is Directed by Broadway's Sammi Cannold.

For Tickets go to https://liedcenter.org/tickets/group-tickets

For more information and to see the other Nebraska performers in this production, go to https://liedcenter.org/event/rent-concert.

LIED CENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTS

https://www.liedcenter.org 

Phone: 402-472-4734

We talked with Director Sara Scheidies about her upcoming production "She Kills Monsters" by Qui Nguyen which opens January 20th at the Chanticleer Community Theatre at the Hoff Center at PACE.  "She Kills Monsters" was published in 2011 and was nominated for the Drama Desk Awards, GLAAD Media Awards, and ITBA Patrick Lee Awards in 2012.  In 2013 it won the AATE Distinguished Play Award.

Even if you are not a Dungeons and Dragons fan, you will easily find meaning in this play about a young girl who lost her sister and parents in a car accident.  She embarks on a quest to learn more about her sister who loved playing D&D. Through her grief, she begins to understand her deceased estranged sister better, and this journey also leads to a self-discovery about her own sexuality. 

"She Kills Monsters" performances will be January 10-12 and 17-19th, 2025.  Get your tickets now! 

Note: This show has language and situations not suitable for young children.

CONTACT Chanticleer Community Theatre at the Hoff Center at PACE

Tickets: https://www.showpass.com/she-kills-monsters/

Website: https://www.paceartsiowa.org/theater/chanticleer-community-theater

With the addition of the technological age, bullying has become even more apparent as a big problem that our kids and even adults face.  We spoke with Dr. Patricia Newman, Founder and Executive Director of RESPECT.  RESPECT is a not-for-profit organization formed of professional actor-educators, led by a child psychologist, advised by community organizations. Their Educators and Actors visit schools and communities – in person or virtually – to present educational plays and stage presentations to prevent violence, bullying, and child abuse. 

RESPECT is a wonderful resource for people of all ages in our community! The Staff at Respect were even a helpful counsel to Sheri when faced with a bullying situation in 2019.  Respect also offers opportunities to local actors to perform in the staged presentations at schools and other venues.  Find out all about this meaningful program in our discussion with Dr. Newman! 

RESPECT CONTACT INFORMATION 

Website:  www.respect2all.org

What is Christmas without music, friendship and snow?  The 1954 movie "White Christmas" was adapted into a Broadway musical in 2008, and will give you all the great feelings of the famous Hollywood movie.  While we were at PACE, visiting Chanticleer's production of this play, we heard lots of dancing and singing and spoke with Music DirectorJennifer Orvis and Actor, Christine Reiners.  This cast is ready to bring us back to the post-World War II era with music, costumes, and a nostalgic Christmas story where friends help communities, and the people around them.

"White Christmas" opens December 12-22nd.

For Tickets: https://www.showpass.com/white-christmas-11/

CHANTICLEER COMMUNITY THEATRE CONTACT INFO:

Website: Chanticleer at PACE

POTTAWATTAMIE ARTS CULTURE AND ENTERTAINMENT (PACE) CONTACT INFO:

Website: https://www.paceartsiowa.org/

Location: Hoff Family Arts & Culture Center: 1001 South 6th Street, Council Bluffs, IA.

We are blessed with another holiday collaboration between Benson Theatre and Brigit Saint Brigit Theatre Co.! This holiday you will see inside seven different apartments at Holiday Tower.  We talk with Dulcie Mueller, Writer and Actor, and also Midge Radcliff, Co-Executive Director of Benson Theatre.  They reveal what this holiday show is about, the unique and diverse ways to celebrate the season, and how this show was developed by the Holiday Lites Collective!

Don't miss this show that opens December 12th and runs until December 22nd.  Their "Pay-What-You-Can Night" will be on Thursday, December 12th, so bring family and friends!  

BENSON THEATRE CONTACT INFO:

Tickets and Website: https://bensontheatre.org/ 

6054 Maple Street, Omaha, NE 

BRIGIT SAINT BRIGIT THEATRE CO. INFO:

Tickets: https://www.bsbtheatre.com/holidayroom

Website: https://www.bsbtheatre.com/