Theatre Thrives In and Around Lincoln

by Mary Kay Roth

Imagine a punk rock version of Romeo and Juliet performed in an outdoor barn setting located smack dab in the middle of Lincoln.

That’s the kind of wonder you’ll find from the Flatwater Shakespeare Company, featuring summer and fall productions staged annually at the open-air barn theatre in Wyuka Cemetery as well as at local parks.

“An average person now watches thousands of hours of screen time in a year, but gets so few hours of theatre time… which means we’ll all be missing out on so much,” according to Aaron Sawyer, the new executive artistic director of Flatwater. 

“Theatre is about becoming more than you are… with an audience that is engaged and actively involved… these days the rules of cinema are becoming fast cut, fast cut… everything is a blur. But in live theatre every sentence counts, every word… It bounces off the walls, it’s poetry and prose.”

Of course, Lincoln boasts an abundance of fascinating theatre groups beyond Flatwater, everything from the Lincoln Community Playhouse to Pinewood Bowl at Pioneers Park, to the Mahoney Melodramas at Mahoney State Park.

But the Flatwater Shakespeare Company is currently undergoing quite the transformation.

“We’re dreaming, getting more creative, expanding and continuing to change, and grow, grow, grow,” Sawyer says.

The theatre company has low overhead costs and features both amateur and veteran actors who stage classic and modern Shakespearean productions.

Sawyer dreams of more.

He envisions adding food and beverages, maybe an evening of appetizers.  

He wants to add more park performances and look at new and different park venues in Lincoln, such as Cooper, Holmes Lake, and Woods.

“Wouldn’t you love to see one of the characters riding in on a motorcycle,” he muses. “I picture people bringing snacks and blankets… something like Jazz in June.”

Of course, ultimately, it will always be
about Shakespeare.

Merry Wives of Windsor. King Lear. Romeo
and Juliet.

“So, what is the big deal about Shakespeare?” Sawyer asks with a laugh. “Shakespeare is about the beauty of the English language, a wonderful balance of dirty jokes and incredible prose. People dancing, stumbling, and slamming into profound stuff like death and sorrow. We have been constantly re-interpreting his plays for years now, asking the universal question, ‘What am I supposed to be doing on this earth?’”

Sawyer particularly loves outdoor settings for Shakespeare plays, both at the Wyuka barn theatre and local parks.

“There are dirt floors, grass, perhaps like Shakespeare was first presented. In Romeo and Juliet, when Juliet hears the birds, you can hear real birds chirping. When a scene features a transition to night, it’s actually becoming dusk around the audience. It’s so lovely to have those little pieces of nature — a bird landing on someone’s shovel.”

But Sawyer also likes surprise and whimsy, like adding punk rock to a traditional Shakespeare play. “I love how everything can suddenly seem so new. My dad came to our latest production and kept asking me, ‘Is that really in the script?’”

Also new in the coming year, the Lincoln and Omaha Shakespeare productions are in the process of merging and restoring Omaha’s Shakespeare on the Green — as they try to broaden their audiences.

“I’m constantly intrigued with the educational aspects of what we do. I would really like to bring portions of our plays to local high schools, or somehow reach out to educators over school breaks.”

Sawyer says he has one guiding principle in his work: “If we’re not having fun, we’re doing it wrong. And if the audience is not having fun, we’re doing it wrong. I would like to keep surprising everyone.”

Lincoln has also added another relatively new production to its local stage, the Nebraska Storytelling Festival, which is featured each fall. The 2025 festival is at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23, at the Scottish Rite Ballroom in downtown Lincoln. For more info: www.facebook.com/NEstorytellingfest

Lincoln and the surrounding area, of course, have a wide variety of theatrical and performance groups.

Lincoln groups:

Lincoln Community Playhouse, a long-time tradition in Lincoln at 2500 S. 56th Street, features an annual season of musicals and plays. The 2025-26 season includes Alice Wonderland, The Diary of Anne Frank, Pippin, and more. (lincolnplayhouse.com)

Nebraska Repertory Theatre is a professional acting and production experience for students and faculty at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in collaboration with professional artists in residence. (402-472-2072)

Nebraska Wesleyan University Theatre includes student-directed productions featuring dramas, hit musicals, Shakespeare, and more. (www.nebrwesleyan.edu/theatre/current-season)

Pinewood Bowl in Pioneers Park features renowned musical groups, as well as the annual, legendary musical performed each summer by local actors. The musical for 2026 will be Annie. (pinewoodbowl.org)

TADA Theatre, a non-profit, award-winning theatre group that premieres new and familiar musicals — Life Could be a Dream, The Toxic Avenger, Little Shop of Horrors, and more — while often encouraging audiences to laugh and sing along. (tadaproductions.info)

Angels Theatre Company brings together artists to collaborate in creating and promoting new theater experiences. (angelscompany.org)

Haymarket Theater and Nebraska Youth Theatre provide workshops and classes that result in public performances. 

Theatre Arts for Kids has youth classes in musical theatre.

Area groups:

Mahoney State Park Melodramas

Beatrice Community Players

Nebraska Communities Playhouse in Hickman

Lofte Community Theatre in Manley

Olde Glory Theatre in Seward

Brownville Village Theatre

Bellevue Little Theatre