With everything from outdoor concert amphitheaters to historic theaters, the Omaha-Council Bluffs region takes the spotlight when it comes to entertainment and performing arts venues.
“The deep and varied experiences that we offer with our performing arts usually ends up being one of the biggest surprises about Omaha,” says Dana Markel, executive director of the Omaha CVB. “There’s so much creative, talent here.”
Omaha’s most legendary theater is the Omaha Community Playhouse where a local boy named Henry Fonda made his dramatic debut in 1925 in a play directed by Marlon Brando’s mother. Today the playhouse offers two theaters presenting a seasonal calendar of productions and can accommodate meetings of up to 500. In addition to the theaters, the playhouse offers a boardroom, plaza and lobbies that can be reserved for pre-theater events.
Home to the Omaha Symphony, Omaha Opera as well as featuring headline musical entertainers, Holland Performing Arts Center offers a variety of rental spaces, including the 2,000-seat Peter Kiewit Concert Hall, a 300-seat recital hall, open-air courtyard and breakout rooms for 10-50 people.
Also operated by Omaha Performing Arts, the Orpheum Theater is a beautifully restored 1927 movie palace that hosts Broadway touring productions. The multi-purpose theater seats 2,000 and also offers an expansive lobby available for pre-event cocktail receptions.
Also a former movie palace, Omaha’s Rose Theater, home to a children’s theater group, is celebrated for its Moorish and Classical design that includes barreled ceilings painted with blue skies. Spaces available for rent include the 900-seat main theater, 130-seat Hitchcock Theater, main lobby. mezzanine, classroom spaces and rehearsal hall.
Part of Harrah’s Council Bluffs, Stir Cove, is an outdoor amphitheater where up to 2,500 concertgoers gather to hear such artists as Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett and the Black Crows on Saturday nights from May through fall. The facility offers spaces for groups, including a lounge area and a balcony overlooking the concert area.
