Press Releases: Omaha

 

 

 

OPERA OMAHA ANNOUNCES 26/27 SEASON

 

Omaha, NE ---Opera Omaha is announcing the 26/27 Season, which expands its programming to include more productions and venues.

“I should say that I love each season equally, if not the same, but there is a special spark to the 26/27 Season, and I can’t deny its magic,” says Opera Omaha General Director, Allison Swenson.

“There is something for everyone at every age with more performances in more venues. Our mission is to inspire audiences and add to Omaha’s great cultural vibrancy, and the 26/27 Season promises to deliver in abundance.”

Opera Omaha’s season kick-off concert, OPERA OUTDOORS returns in a new location – Stinson Park at Aksarben Village. This free, family-friendly favorite features opera’s greatest hits sung by world-class artists.

Next, the company will bring GRAMMY Award-winning baritone WILL LIVERMAN IN CONCERT to The Slowdown for an intimate evening of original music and classical favorites, featuring velvet-soft lyricism and roof-raising charisma, in a performance where word and tone meet heart and heat.

Opening the mainstage season in November will be the beloved LA BOHÈME. For centuries Puccini’s starving artists have moved hearts with their bohemian ideals and singular hope. In a winter of poverty, Mimi and Rodolfo’s love ignites a contagious warmth until a heartbreaking reality tears them apart.

E. Loren Meeker’s sumptuous production of this operatic staple heightens the romance and the sting of Parisian cold. Stars, Karen Chia-ling Ho and Demetrious Sampson are the ill-fated lovers alongside their fellow starving artists Susanne Burgess, Darren Drone, Johnathan McCullough, and Nicholas Newton, all making their Opera Omaha debuts.

Opera Omaha continues its Family Opera Series in January with THE PIGEON KEEPER, a mystical new opera that welcomes opera goers of every age to The Rose Theater.

Told through cinematic projections, moving music, and children’s chorus, this contemporary fable invites audiences from every generation to celebrate the kindness of strangers and the unexpected places we find family.

The mainstage series continues in the Spring with ARIADNE AUF NAXOS. What happens when an opera company and a comedy troupe are spontaneously forced to perform together? Opera Omaha’s first-ever opera by Richard Strauss features hilarity and poignance in a backstage battle of art and ego.

Finally, The English Concert, the world’s preeminent Baroque orchestra, returns to Omaha at the Holland Center for Performing Arts for one night only to present the rarely performed ALESSANDRO. Brimming with vocal athletics and unparalleled musicianship, Handel’s Alexander the Great juggles a love triangle with global conquest and political conspiracy.

This rarely seen Handel opera has only been performed in the United States once before now. The world’s peerless Baroque orchestra brings this rare gem to Omaha with authentic period instruments and vocal fireworks.

Season tickets for Opera Omaha’s 26/27 Season are available now at www.TicketOmaha.com or by calling Opera Omaha at (402) 34OPERA (346-7372).

OPERA OUTDOORS

Sat. August 29, 2026 | Stinson Park

 

WILL LIVERMAN IN CONCERT

Sunday Sept. 27, 2026 | Slowdown

 

LA BOHÈME

November 13 & 15, 2026 | Orpheum Theater

 

Composed by Giacomo Puccini

Libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa

 

Rebecca Herman | Director

Jonathan Brandani* | Conductor

Karen Chia-ling Ho* | Mimi

Demetrious Sampson* | Rodolfo

Susanne Burgess* | Musetta

Darren Drone* | Marcello

Johnathan McCullough* | Schaunard

Nicholas Newton* | Colline

James Demler* | Benoit/Alcindoro

 

 

THE PIGEON KEEPER

January 28-30, 2027 | The Rose Theater

A co-production with Opera Parallèle and Opera on the Avalon

 

Composed by David Hanlon

Libretto by Stephanie Fleischmann

 

Brian Staufenbiel* | Director

Kelly Kuo* | Conductor

Joshua Jeremiah* | Thalasso

Song Hee Lee* | Orsia

Bernard Holcomb | The Pigeon Keeper

 

 

ARIADNE AUF NAXOS

March 19 & 21, 2027 | Orpheum Theater

 

Composed by Richard Strauss

Libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal

 

Chas Rader-Shieber* | Director

Steven White | Principal Guest Conductor

Marcy Stonikas* | Ariadne

Elizabeth Sutphen* | Zerbinetta

Robert Stahley | Bacchus

Stephanie Lauricella* | The Composer

Levi Hernandez | Ein Musiklehrer

Chauncey Packer* | Tanzmeister & Scaramuccio

Michael J. Hawk | Harlekin

Andrew Morstein* | Brighella

Dylan Gregg* | Truffaldin

Léa Nayak* | Najade

Stephanie Sanchez | Dryade

Cadie J. Bryan* | Echo

 

ALESSANDRO

April 30, 2027 | Holland Performing Arts Center

 

Composed by George Frideric Handel

Libretto by Thomas Broughton

 

Harry Bicket | Conductor

Christophe Dumaux | Alessandro

Xenia Puskarz Thomas* | Rossane

Joélle Harvey* | Lisaura

Ashley Riches* | Clito

Alexander Chance* | Cleone

Anthony Gregory* | Leonato

 

* Opera Omaha Mainstage Debut

ABOUT OPERA OMAHA

Opera Omaha is a growth-minded, high energy, and innovative company with a demanding mission: producing opera performances in multiple formats and styles and co-creating artist-led programs for a variety of community service organizations. We believe the power of opera is transformational, and as a result supports the creation of an inventive, creative, empathetic, and inclusive community that inspires joy, self-discovery, kinder discourse, and opportunity for all.

 

Visit www.operaomaha.org for more information.

 

TICKETS AND INFORMATION

Season tickets for Opera Omaha’s 26/27 season are available now.

Visit www.TicketOmaha.com to purchase or call Opera Omaha at (402) 34OPERA (346-7372).

 

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The Omaha Community Playhouse Opens the Groundbreaking Rock Musical Hair on February 13, 2026

Omaha, Neb., (February 3, 2026) — Peace, love, and rock ‘n’ roll. The Omaha Community Playhouse is turning up the volume with Hair, the revolutionary rock musical that sparked a cultural movement and defined a generation. Opening February 13 and on stage through March 22, 2026 in the intimate Howard Drew Theatre, Hair erupts with raw energy and radical joy under the direction of Brandon Box-Higdem.

When Hair premiered in 1967, it became Broadway’s first rock musical. Its themes of identity, protest, generational conflict, and resistance challenged audiences then—and remain strikingly relevant in today’s social climate.

Fueled by an iconic rock score featuring “Aquarius,” “Hair,” “Good Morning Starshine,” and “Let the Sunshine In,” Hair drops audiences into the heart of a young, defiant tribe fighting for peace, love, and personal freedom in a world shaped by war, conformity, and fear.

With book and lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado, and music by Galt MacDermot, Hair is bold, deeply human, and reflects the power of community.

The Omaha Community Playhouse production embraces Hair’s countercultural roots with a fearless ensemble, immersive staging, and a communal energy that transforms the theatre into a collective experience of music, joy, and ‘60s rebellion.

Performance Details:

 

• Dates: February 13 – March 22, 2026
• Location: Howard Drew Theatre | Omaha Community Playhouse, 6915 Cass Street, Omaha, Neb.
• Showtimes: Thursdays – Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m.
• Directed by Brandon Box-Higdem, music direction by Jim Boggess, choreography by Melanie Epps
• Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online atomahaplayhouse.com, by phone at (402) 553-0800, or at the OCP Box Office.

 

Ticket Omaha is the only official online retailer for OCP tickets. Patrons should avoid purchasing tickets from third-party ticket resale websites.

 

Content Advisory:

This production of Hair contains strong adult language and themes and elements which may be triggering, including explicit sexual references, depictions and references to drug use, and brief nudity; inflammatory and provocative dialogue and lyrics related to racism, politics, and protest; loud sound effects depicting war; use of prop/theatrical firearms; and scenes of simulated gun violence. Strobe lighting, fog, and haze are employed throughout for visual effect.

 

Audio Described Performance:

An audio-described performance will be offered Saturday, February 21 for those who are blind or visually impaired. Please contact the OCP Box Office at (402) 553-0800 for additional information.

 

About the Omaha Community Playhouse:

Founded in 1924, Omaha Community Playhouse (OCP) is the nation’s largest non-profit community theatre. As one of the oldest arts organizations in the Omaha, Neb. region, OCP is dedicated to enriching the lives of audiences and participants through entertainment, thought-provoking stories, and first-hand involvement. OCP features two state-of-the-art performance spaces — the 558-seat Howard and Rhonda Hawks Mainstage Theatre and the 200+-seat Howard Drew Theatre. In addition to its full season of stage productions, OCP offers arts education programming for all ages through its educational wing, the Shirlee & Henry Fonda Theatre Academy, along with programming for those with sensory sensitivities and a multitude of community outreach initiatives.

 

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