2023 ANNUAL REPORT
the first Lied Center
2023
Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott recognized as
Artists of Distinction, Spring
FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
From our season-opening concert with GRAMMY®winning vocalist Diana Krall to the spectacular return of American Ballet Theatre presenting Giselle to finish the season, 2022-2023 was a time of historic artistic highs and unforgettable performances at the Lied Center. We welcomed artistic masters in every musical genre, including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Jazzmeia Horn, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Alton Brown, Camille A. Brown, and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.
In October of 2022, Lincoln joined Paris, France, in hosting the world’s two largest celebrations of the iconic work of Danny Elfman. During Danny Elfman Week (as it was officially proclaimed by Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird), literally hundreds of students and community members were able to learn from and even perform with world-class artists, including Danny Elfman himself. Concerts throughout the week celebrated Elfman’s amazing body of work, culminating in the unforgettable Danny Elfman’s Music from the Films of Tim Burton. It was a week that will go down in Lied Center history for both the artistic excellence and scope of its impact.
In December, more than 10,000 people braved the cold to make family memories at Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas. What a thrill it was to see so many children and families pack the Lied Center to experience the joy and wonder of live performance! That show was part of a record-breaking Glenn Korff Broadway Series that also included the Nebraska premiere of Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill, the return of audience favorites The Book of Mormon and CHICAGO, and the Lied Center debuts of Legally Blonde: The Musical and On Your Feet!
This season of once-in-a-lifetime events, unprecedented impact and outreach, and unforgettable moments proved once again that no dream is too big at the Lied Center!
Bill Stephan, CVE, Executive Director & Chief Artistic Officer, Lied Center for Performing Arts
ARTISTIC AND EDUCATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
Danny Elfman at the Lied Center with Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra
THE 2022-2023 SEASON AT THE LIED CENTER WAS A TIME OF UNFORGETTABLE ARTISTIC HIGHLIGHTS, IMPACTFUL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES, AND MEANINGFUL COMMUNITY OUTREACH.
Following a busy summer full of venue improvements and maintenance projects, the return of popular Lied Center high school camps. Including the Triple Threat Broadway Intensive and the Piano Academy, and an Arts for All season launch that brought hundreds of UNL students to the Lied to kick off the new school year with a free concert from pop star Tinashe, the season kick off in October with jazz legend Diana Krall performing to a near sell-out crowd.
Just days after the season opener, the Lied launched into one of our busiest and most impactful weeks on record. As officially declared by Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird, October 5-8 was Danny Elfman Week in Lincoln, Nebraska! Worldwide, there have been only two celebrations of this size honoring the genre-spanning work of Danny Elfman—in Paris, France,
and Lincoln, Nebraska. The Lied Center was proud to host an exceptional week of events, including the GRAMMY®-winning ensemble Third Coast Percussion performing the percussion quartet Elfman wrote for them, a screening of “Beetlejuice” featuring Elfman’s beloved score, a performance of Elfman’s violin concerto Eleven Eleven featuring violinist Sandy Cameron and the UNL Symphony Orchestra under the baton of international maestro John Mauceri, and Danny Elfman’s Music
From the Films of Tim Burton. The spectacular finale event featured Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra with guest conductor Mauceri, Sandy Cameron playing the Edward Scissorhands Suite, a large choir of UNL music students, a giant screen projecting scenes from Elfman/Burton movies, and a thrilling performance from Elfman himself as Jack Skellington from “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” The sold-out Lied Center crowd, many of whom arrived in costumes paying tribute to their favorite Elfman/Burton movies, were on their feet for multiple standing ovations.
Third Coast Percussion
Multi-platinum R&B artist Tinashe performs for University of Nebraska students
Conductor John Mauceri, Violinist Sandy Cameron, and Danny Elfman take a bow after their sold-out Lied Center concert!
The series of performances was accompanied by an extensive artistic residency that impacted literally hundreds of students at the University of NebraskaLincoln. In addition to the many instrumental and vocal music students who got to perform on stage with Elfman, Cameron, and Mauceri, there were master classes and outreach events that gave students access to these internationally renowned artists. As Lied Center Executive Director Bill Stephan put it, “Students at the Hixson Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts had one of the greatest residency weeks in the history of the college and the Lied Center, with outreach to conducting students and composition students, master classes in violin and percussion, and so much more. Our Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts students got to interact with one of the greatest film composers and innovators of all time. It was an exceptional week.” Nadia Maudhoo, a UNL music student who participated in a violin master class with Sandy Cameron, said, “The Lied Center providing this opportunity to me means so much because I didn’t think I’d ever get feedback on my own playing from someone like her. She showed me things and gave examples that I’ve never heard from any other teacher before. It was a life-changing experience for me.”
At the same time, the Lied was also hosting a groundbreaking collaboration with the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts to produce The Wilds in the Carson Theater. This innovative mixed-reality performance experience fused live dancers with motion capture technology and real-time animation to create an environment where movement instantly became music in an immersive journey of sound, light, and visual media in real time. The eight-performance run was led by the creators: acclaimed choreographer Laurel Jenkins, GRAMMY®-nominated producer/composer Lewis Pesacov, and visual artist Jesse Fleming, founding director of the Awareness-Based Design Lab at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts.
The 2022-2023 Glenn Korff Broadway Series also kicked off in October with a nearly sold-out run of the beloved musical CHICAGO, followed by the return of STOMP in November. In collaboration with the company of STOMP, the Lied Center partnered with six local dance studios on the ‘Dancers Stomp Out Hunger’ food drive. The result was over 750 pounds of food being donated to the Food Bank of Lincoln, along with a finale performance attended by local media in which the artists of STOMP performed in the food bank warehouse.
Violinist Sandy Cameron plays during a master class with University of Nebraska student Nadia Maudhoo
STOMP
REZA’s sold-out Lied Center performance
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Kathryn Stott with Season Lieders Art and Chris Zygielbaum
Jazzmeia Horn with Jazz Circle Member Katherine Starace
Another artistic highlight was the November performance from Camille A. Brown and Dancers opening the season’s MOSAIC series. Led by frequent Broadway choreographer Camille A. Brown, the company married the styles of modern, hip-hop, African, ballet, and tap to tell stories connecting history with contemporary culture, race, and identity. In addition to the performance, dancers from the company also taught a master class for local dance students.
The centerpiece of holiday programming at the Lied was a five-performance run of Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas, which brought more than 10,000 people to the Lied Center during one of the coldest weeks on record! It was a truly festive event, with the building packed with children and families, many experiencing their first live performances.
The new calendar year began with a series of worldclass performances from Broadway star Brian Stokes Mitchell, the Gloria Estefan musical On Your Feet, and rising jazz star Jazzmeia Horn. February brought a soldout performance from illusionist Reza, who also brought with him an inspirational Lied Center connection and “a crazy full-circle moment.”
Growing up in Brookings, South Dakota, Reza says he had every magic kit he could get his hands on. In 2004, his parents surprised him with tickets to see David Copperfield at the Lied Center, an experience he describes as “life-changing,” cementing his decision to
keep pursuing his love of magic. In the 20 years since, he has become one of the most highly sought-after illusionists in the nation, selling out shows across the nation and appearing on television all over the world.
Though Reza has performed on hundreds of stages, his return to the Lied Center was an extremely special moment of an already illustrious career. “To go into the lobby that I entered as a kid and see it all from the opposite end of the spectrum, realizing how much of an impact that was on my life, seeing how things have developed because of that moment… it puts a big responsibility on me and on my performance, knowing that someone else might be inspired as well.”
Presented in March, Ajijaak on Turtle Island was the centerpiece of one of the biggest and most impactful arts education programs in the history of the Lied Center, bringing more than 6,000 students from Lincoln Public Schools (including every 6th grade student!), many local Indigenous communities, and others from across the state to the Lied to experience the production. Told with spectacular puppets designed and created by the Jim Henson’s Creature Shop as well as traditional music and dances, Ajijaak presented the students with a powerful and engaging story about the journey of a young whooping crane, celebrating the symbiotic relationship between cranes and Native American/ Indigenous peoples. The production was produced by
The Grinch helps decorate the Lied Center for the holidays
Pre-show Ajijaak activities in the Lied Center lobby
IBEX Puppetry and created by visionary puppet artist Heather Henson, daughter of Jim Henson, along with GRAMMY® Award winner Ty Defoe (Ojibwe/Oneida), Dawn Avery (Mohawk), Larry Mitchell, and Kevin Tarrant (Ho-Chunk/Hopi).
Before and after seeing the show, students engaged with the topics central to Ajijaak in their classrooms through curriculum on natural sciences, conservation, and Indigenous culture. Before the public performance, audiences also had the chance to participate in a free “Fam-Fest” pre-show party at the Lied featuring activities, crafts, and games created and presented by Henson’s team and Indigenous partners. Every student matinee and the public performance of Ajijaak began with a welcome from local Indigenous leaders representing communities across Southeastern Nebraska. Heather Henson shared that, as they take Ajijaak to other cities across the nation, she and her team encourage other communities to follow the “Lied Center model” of connecting and collaborating with local Indigenous populations.
Beyond Lincoln, students from Indigenous schools across the state also got a sneak peek at Ajijaak in the months before the performance through a short film created as a companion piece. “Shells of Wisdom” was produced by Heather Henson and features another story starring Ajijaak the crane, and the Lied Center was proud to bring it to schools in Macy, Winnebago, Niobrara, Santee, and to Spring Creek Prairie. Filmmaker Ginew Benton, son of renowned activist and founder of the American Indian Movement Edward Benton-Banai, traveled to Nebraska to present the film at these schools and answer questions from students.
That was just the beginning of a month jam-packed with world-class performances! March also brought the inspiring return of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, which also included exceptional outreach opportunities for local students to work with artists from one of the world’s top modern dance companies. The Book of Mormon returned to the Lied for another hugely successful run, followed closely
Ajijaak at the Lied Center
Ajijaak at the Lied Center
by a performance from acclaimed hip-hop dancer/ choreographer Amirah Sackett who was joined by beatbox artist Mr. MiC for We’re Muslim, Don’t Panic. A highlight of their time in Lincoln included an assembly of the students at Clinton Elementary.
On March 30, classical music icon and longtime friend of the Lied Center Yo-Yo Ma returned to the Lied with frequent collaborator pianist Kathryn Stott for a virtuosic performance. During their stay in Lincoln, Ma and Stott became the first artists to be selected and recognized as Lied Center Artists of Distinction.
The Lied Center for Performing Arts “Artists of Distinction” designation officially celebrates and recognizes artists that have made a significant impact at Nebraska’s Performing Arts Center through extraordinary performance and history of engaging with the community in unique and impactful ways. Artists of Distinction are celebrated internationally for leading in their genre of art and are permanently recognized at the Lied.
Ma and Stott have played vital roles in the history of the Lied Center for Performing Arts, both individually and as an artistic team, having transformed the lives of countless patrons. Ma has appeared at the Lied Center five times over the past 33 years, commemorating the Lied’s 5th, 10th, 20th, and 25th anniversaries along with being a featured speaker as part of the E.N. Thompson Forum on World Issues. The Lied Center’s first international film appearance is in “The Music of Strangers,” featuring Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble. Stott is celebrated for her exceptional impact at the Lied Center with multiple performances, including a solo recital and transformative educational residencies with University of Nebraska students. The Lied Center is deeply grateful to have Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott woven into the fabric of Lied Center history.
The finale of the Broadway series was the Nebraska premiere of Alanis Morisette’s Jagged Little Pill in April, with a full week of performances of the powerful new musical. Broadway star Heidi
National tour of Jagged Little Pill
American Ballet Theatre master class at Everett Elementary
American Ballet Theatre Giselle
American Ballet Theatre master class at Everett Elementary
Blickenstaff, who also played the leading role in the show on Broadway, was an unforgettable highlight. The Lincoln Journal Star called Jagged Little Pill “the best touring musical to play the Lied Center this season” and BroadwayWorld Omaha noted that JLP “may open the door to some important conversations to have with those you love. And isn’t that one of the many powerful gifts of theatre?”
May 2023 brought the highly anticipated return of American Ballet Theatre to Lincoln following its historic 2010 performance in Pioneers Park that drew a crowd of more than 6,000 people and its landmark 2018 collaboration with the St. Louis Symphony to present Firebird starring Misty Copeland. American Ballet Theatre brought its full company of dancers back to the Lied for two performances of the classic ballet Giselle . Accompanied by Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra, this lush and extravagant performance also provided the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
for several local students, dancers, and community members to appear on stage with ABT as background artists. Always generous with their time in nurturing the next generation of great dancers, ABT artists also taught several master classes for local dance students.
From intimate performances with master artists like Yo-Yo Ma to spectacular Broadway shows like Jagged Little Pill, from historic residencies like Danny Elfman Week to inspiring full-circle stories like Reza: Edge of Illusion, the 20222023 season was no doubt one of the best in the Lied Center’s history. Thousands of students statewide were impacted by dozens of life-changing master classes and arts education opportunities and tens of thousands of Nebraskans experienced worldclass performances in a spectacular season of joy, inspiration, and artistry.
Reza was met with a standing ovation at the Lied Center
The Grinch helps decorate the Lied Center for the holidays
LIED CENTER ANNUAL NET TICKET SALES
$4,500,000
$4,000,000
$3,500,000
$3,000,000
$2,500,000
$2,000,000
$1,500,000
$1,000,000
$500,000
NUMBER OF SEASON ORDERS
$600,000
$550,000
$250,000
$3,329,834
$3,922,807 $2,965,499 $300,015
$610,000 4,008 $4,263,311
REVENUE
“ THE LIED CENTER TAKES THE WORLD AND PUTS IT ON ONE STAGE.
Yo-Yo Ma
sold-out Lied Center performance
REZA’s