Music, Mayhem & Magic coming Summer 2022

Pump Boys and Dinettes at TADA Theatre

by Aja Martin

From May to August, Lincoln offers a summer full of the Performing Arts.  Seamlessly move from outdoor to indoor venues and watch musicals to dramas.

TADA Theatre is located in the Creamery Building at Seventh and P streets in Lincoln’s Haymarket. For more information, on performances and comedy nights, visit tadaproductions.info. Summer 2022 promises to be red hot with two major musicals. Rent – June 9-26. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum August 11-28. And while it is past summertime proper, Godspell will be performed October 13-23, 2022.

Pinewood Bowl in Pioneers Park at 3201 S. Coddington Street, pinewoodbowl.org

More than merely an outdoor theatre, Pinewood Bowl is a destination and a cultural hub. You can see music, drama, and dancing nearly year round. Locals can look into classes about auditioning and performing. Schools and CLCs can ask about community services they offer. Summer visitors should check their calendar to see what fun they can schedule. 

Acts already booked for the summer include Bon Iver on June 18, 2022 and Goo Goo Dolls on July 30, 2022.

Coming Summer 2022 is Disney’s Newsies! “Stop the presses! This Disney film turned Tony-winning Broadway hit inspires everyone to fight for what’s right and seize the day.”

Flatwater Shakespeare Company, created by Bob Hall, begins each summer at the open-air Stables at Wyuka Cemetery at 3600 O Street. Before visiting venues across the city, see Shakespeare performed in some of Lincoln’s best locations, including Lincoln Community Garden, James Arthur Vineyards, Pioneers Park Nature Center and the Railyard’s Canopy street, as well as city parks like Henry, Cooper and Holmes. 

Flatwater continues to offer its Little But Fierce free theater classes for children in the coming year. For more information and the performance schedule for 2022, visit flatwatershakespearecompany.org.

The Angels Theatre Company is a group of performing artists who collaborate to create engaging theater all over Lincoln. Their goals are to promote artistic growth, foster community relationships and raise social awareness. Some offerings have moved to online viewing only while the hope remains for summer 2022 to allow for in-person plays to restart.

July 20-30, 2022 will be their eighth annual First Flight Festival where all new, all original, all local short plays are featured. Visit angelscompany.org to follow flight announcements and to see when in-person will return.

The Lincoln Community Playhouse, or LCP, is located at 2500 S. 56th Street, lincolnplayhouse.com

LCP offers a range of theater options for kids, adults, and families who love dramas, comedies and musical shows.

In May 2022, the LCP takes on Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat; a musical reinterpretation of the famous biblical parable featuring music by Andrew Lloyd-Webber.

In September 2022, they plan to return to their normal full season schedule and kick it off with the world’s longest running musical The Fantasticks. One part comedy, one part musical, makes for one whole evening of entertainment.

LCP also offers a broad range of outreach activities and classes for all ages, including the Penguin Project, which pairs young artists with developmental disabilities including Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism, intellectual and learning disabilities, visual or hearing impairment and other neurological disorders, with a dedicated group of volunteer peer mentors—children the same age without disabilities who work side by side with them through four months of rehearsals and the final performance. Visit their website to find what project they will be preparing for the winter season.

Just a few miles north of Lincoln is another summer tradition, the Mahoney Melodramas. Since 1993, from May to August, families have been treated to a night of booing and throwing popcorn at the villain and cheering on the heroine, who is always in need of saving. For a complete schedule, visit melodrama.net.

Other area theaters producing during the summer months include: 

Beatrice Community Players, 40 miles south of Lincoln on U.S. 77. Join them in June 2022 for the western musical comedy Desperate Measures. Visit beatricecommunityplayers.com.

• In Hickman, just 10 miles southeast of Lincoln, is a new company, The Stage Theater. Their latest productions may be found at thestagetheater.com.

• About 40 miles east, near Manley, Nebraska, is The Lofte Community Theatre at 15841 Manley Road. For tickets and more information call 402-234-2553 or visit Lofte.org.

• The Olde Glory Theatre in a repurposed church in Seward at 348 Jackson Avenue is just a quick trip from Lincoln. To purchase tickets go to oldeglorysewardne.com.

For a full list of productions throughout the year, visit the Lincoln Theatre Alliance website at lincolntheatrealliance.org and Appearing Locally at appearinglocally.com

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