For more than 70 years, The Rose Theater has been proud to be the place where a love of the arts begins. From the young preschooler seeing her favorite storybook burst to life in vibrant color, to the shy student taking his first timid steps on stage and discovering his voice, to the teen intern with dreams of making it on Broadway, a lifelong love of theater starts right here under the copper domes of The Rose.
Our Mission
The Rose Theater is committed to inspiring young people and their families to discover the magic of theater, to find their voices and to enrich their communities.
The Rose Theater is home to the Omaha Theater Company — the only resident, touring, professional theater company in Omaha and one of the largest in the country!
The Rose is accessible to all children. No child is ever turned away for economic reasons. “Pay-what-you-can” evenings are offered for most productions. Thousands of tickets are given to local youth-serving nonprofits year after year.
Live performances are shared from two stages at The Rose Theater: the main stage and the intimate Hitchcock Theater.
Professional actors/educators offer classes in theater, directing, musical theater, singing, dancing and more. Children ages four to 18 are welcome.
The Rose has produced a number of world-premiere shows including “Return to Niobrara,” “The Doll Maker’s Gift,” “The Little Engine That Could,” “Thumbelina,” “Pete The Cat: The Musical,” “Sherlock Holmes & The First Baker Street Irregular,” Leo Lionni’s “Frederick,” “Zen Ties,” Mufaro’s “Beautiful Daughters,” “The Wolf and Its Shadows,” “Where the Red Fern Grows” and “The Little Engine That Could” and has worked with renowned playwrights including James Still, Mark Medoff, Y York, Joe Sutton and Robert Bly.
Click here to learn more about the history of The Rose and to view photos from past productions.
From an article in Nebraska Magazine: The Rose carries different significance to different people. During a tour of hopeful patrons during the building’s restoration, a woman in her 70s burst into tears at the sight of the balcony. She confessed it was in this balcony that she and her husband of two weeks took in a movie before he shipped out during World War II. She didn’t remember the movie, only that she watched it through a veil of tears. For Rose Blumkin, it was where her daughter won a talent show, a kind of “I’ve arrived” moment, a moment that later inspired her to purchase the theater and give a great gift to the city of Omaha. It was where pro bowling had its brief moment of glamour. And for all the artistic directors, actors, educators and guests, The Rose is a place where magic happens. Children’s eyes pop and mouths drop when they walk into The Rose’s ornate lobby. And the fantasy continues when the lights dim and actors take the stage. The $6 million renovations on the theater’s exterior, which include replacing its damaged terra cotta and repairing the hand-carved work on its grand domes, have extended the life of the building for another 100 years. That’s another century of live theater, drama classes, curtain calls and talent shows. At The Rose, the show goes on.