We got "A Backstage Tour of the Lied Center" on June 22 at Lincoln South Rotary Club from Michael Kappan, Marketing & Sales Coordinator.
It was interesting to hear about the History of the Lied Center. Ernst F. Lied was a 1927 graduate of the University of Nebraska. Upon his death in 1980 and endowment was established to support education and the arts throughout the state of Nebraska. You can read more at www.liedcenter.org/explore-lied/history.
From its inception, the Lied Center has been dedicated to serving the community and state by presenting national and international artists. The programs reach out to all parts of Nebraska combining statewide tours, extended residency and collaborations with communities outside Lincoln,
The Lied has over 150,000 patrons per year, 30,000 of those are from outside of Lincoln. Half of those numbers are from events, and the others are from special events held in the center.
There have been over 3 million tickets sold and over 1 million students have participated in Lied educational programs and performances. Ticket sales cover about 50% of the budget while the rest is covered by individual donors, corporate sponsorship, and rental income for events.
Michael presented many interesting photos from the inception, ground-breaking and original building. We got to see the phases of building such as the 8-story fly space behind the stage (set backdrops are still raised and lowered by people), the seating area, and the hanging of the letters on the outside of the building. The red seats were a design based on an Italian opera house.
The mission of the Lied Center for Performing Arts: Our mission is to educate, inspire and entertain the people of Nebraska through the performing arts..
From the Lied website:
Our vision is to transform the lives of the people of Nebraska through the performing arts by:
- Expanding the presentations of artists of great distinction representing all art forms and genres—both from Nebraska and around the world.
- Engaging people and communities from across Nebraska with exceptional experiences
- Providing first-hand experiences for youth and college students
- Revitalizing our facility and investing in our human resources to take the Lied to new stages of excellence.
- Creating new artistic works which contribute to the diverse culture of Nebraska and the world.
- Serving the state as an arts leader and collaborator to celebrate creativity, discovery and diversity.
Looking at the economic impact on the City of Lincoln:
- The International Thespian Festival brings in 5,000 visitors over a five day period
- Annual Nebraska State Music Educators Association Conference will bring in over 2,600 participants and visitors
- They have tracked that events at the Lied account for over 12,000 hotel nights annually
- Annual ticket sales have grown from $1,164,712 (2009) to over $3,300,300 (2018)
We got a sneak peak into the upcoming season. Some of the attractions:
- Leslie Odom Jr., who portrayed Aaron Burr in the original Broadway cast of Hamilton
- Johnny Mathis - the "Voice of Romance"
- The Capitol Steps
- The Book Of Mormon musical
- Mannheim Steamroller Christmas
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar
- Susan Werner