We thank Holden Meier for his presentation "Behind-the-Scenes at the Lied Center for Performing Arts" at Lincoln South Rotary Club on October 18.
The mission statement of the Lied Center for Performing Arts:
. . . to educate, inspire and entertain the people of Nebraska through the performing arts.
Their website includes the tag line "Nebraska's Home For The Arts".
This is the 30-year anniversary for The Lied and some of the events to celebrate are:
- Blue Man Group
- Boston Pops
- The Phantom of the Opera
- The biggest show in the history of The Lied
- Use code MASK for a special Rotary discount
- White Christmas
There is a great deal of interest in Phantom of the Opera. As of the presentation, there were tickets and reservations totaling 19,200. The show with the highest ticket sales prior to this was in 2002 - Les Miserables - with 16,000 tickets sold.
Holden said they have been working to get the Phantom of the Opera as soon as the show announced it would be touring. For 8 years they have been submitting requests, providing details of successful shows, etc. but it has taken this long to prove that they could make a profit in Lincoln.
The center has made some major changes in preparation for The Phantom of the Opera - a 6-digit investment. They replaced the ceiling to support the chandelier, changed the stage to allow for characters to rise up, built a pyrotechnic room, etc. The investment will pay off as the Lied will now be prepared for other great shows in the future such as The Lion King.
Holden wanted to share information about how The Lied works - the business of The Lied. Even though they are affiliated with UNL, they are self-supporting. about 50% comes from ticket sales. In addition to that they have many corporate sponsors and friends of the lied. Periodically events are put on as fundraisers, they have received some grants (primarily for educational programs) and they rent the facility for programs and events.
Going back to the Mission, he said they emphasize education with every event. The contract for the entertainers includes a clause where they entertainer outlines the educational components of their program.