The magic of live performing arts is returning to the Midwest Theater this season! Our 2024-25 Performing Arts Season features a fun combination of performances designed to enliven your interest and cultivate enjoyment. With our new student ticket pricing we also hope to see more area children and youth in the theater!
“I couldn’t be happier to bring a brand-new season filled with a variety of entertaining shows to the Nebraska panhandle,” says Tina Worthman, Executive Director of the Midwest Theater. “Local residents have grown to cherish and await our upcoming seasons, and we are excited to bring this bigger, brighter, and bolder 2024-25 Performing Arts season to you. We cannot wait to see you at the theater.”
Season ticket sales are now available for the 2024-25 Performing Arts Season. You can see all six shows for as little as $170 (for Members of Friends of the Midwest Theater.) Non-Member Season Tickets start at $200. Season ticket prices for students and youth are $100. Get the best seats and prices for all the shows by purchasing your season tickets today.
Buckets N Boards
Friday, October 4, 7 p.m.
Buckets N Boards is a hilarious and high-energy show chock-full of amazing percussion, ridiculous songs, spectacular tap dancing, inventive instrumentation, and an incredible variety of musical talents!
Matthew Levingston and Gareth Sever have hand-crafted a fresh and unique clean comedy experience for the entire family to enjoy! The show was born from their shared passion for music, comedy, and rhythm, but it truly comes to life through the nonstop hilarious interaction between these two AND their audience.
The Shaun Johnson Big Band Experience
Friday, November 22, 7 p.m.
Shaun Johnson, an Emmy-winning singer/songwriter, seemed destined for a life of music from the very beginning. “One of my earliest memories,” he says, “is of performing at state fair talent shows with my little sister. We’d sing Sonny and Cher songs, acapella, when neither of us was quite tall enough to reach the microphone. “
Originally from the small town of Saint Joseph, Iowa, Shaun attended Saint John’s University before settling in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where he began his career with the nationally known vocal group, Tonic-Sol-fa. This quartet has sold nearly two million albums independently and has been featured in Newsweek and on the Today Show. Shaun is still an active member.
In 2018, Shaun put together a group featuring some of the best instrumentalists in the Midwest— guys who’ve toured with numerous luminaries, who are Music Education of the Year and who are integral members of collegiate jazz facilities. His vision was to create a contemporary Jazz Pop sound, honoring legends like Frank Sinatra, with a nod to Michael Bublé and Lake Street Dive, while giving the music his own twist – performing songs ranging from “Spiderman Theme” to increasingly popular original works.
Riders in the Sky
Friday, February 21, 7 p.m.
For over 40 years, Riders in the Sky, an American Western music and comedy group has been performing and entertaining audiences of all ages. Every time they step on stage, they give their audience an enthusiastic greeting: “Mighty fine and a great big Western ’Howdy,’ all you buckaroos and buckarettes!” Dressed like singing cowboys from the Saturday morning serials of the 1930s and 1940s, their music honors the tradition of such movie heroes as Roy Rogers and Gene Autry. While their respect for the genre has earned Riders the appreciation of Western music aficionados, their sense of humor has spread their appeal to other audiences, especially children. Their talent for sketch comedy has earned them several stints as hosts of radio and television series. They won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Album for Children in 2000 with Woody’s Roundup, Featuring Riders in the Sky, an album that grew out of their work on the soundtrack for the film Toy Story 2.
Jonny Lyons and the Pride
Friday, March 14, 7 p.m.
Combining Influences of Rock and Roll, Country, Blues, Soul, Surf, and Rockabilly, Jonny Lyons celebrates a musical style that will take you on a journey back in time to the golden era of music and showmanship. Jonny writes his own music drawing on the energetic style of 50s and 60s sock hops and the soulful sounds of ’60s and ’70s R&B and Motown. With show-stopping vocals, tight harmonies, a ripping sax, and swinging grooves, A Little Somethin’ Somethin’ leaves nothing on the table!
Rastrelli Cello Quartet
Tuesday, April 15, 7 p.m.
The four gentlemen of the Rastrelli Cello Quartet began working together in 2002 and have devoted themselves ever since to exploring and experiencing the cello’s world of sound. They are committed to tradition, but completely uncoupled from the conventional approach, which only serves as a solid foundation. Since then, the ensemble has built up a unique and broad repertoire, the likes of which can’t be found anywhere else.
The four Rastrelli cellists only perform music that they themselves love—that’s a matter of absolute conviction when it comes to putting together their programs. The quartet usually treats its audience with a mixture of arrangements of chamber music works, orchestral classics, and standards of cello literature, as well as popular music, jazz, klezmer, or tango.
Accent – Acapella
Monday, April 28, 7 p.m.
In the increasingly popular world of a cappella singing groups, Accent has carved out its own niche. Inspired by the wizardly jazz harmonies of TAKE 6 and, before them, The Hi-Lo’s, the six singers of Accent, all of them accomplished arrangers and instrumentalists in their own right, are taking their love of close-harmony jazz singing – the denser and more intricate the better – as far as it can go.
Since 2011, they have released five albums, performed at the London A Cappella Festival, played dates across Europe, North America, and Asia, and were featured in two sold-out Christmas shows at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Their singular blend and arrangements have been acclaimed by Acappella devotees and fellow musicians alike, including Cedric Dent of TAKE 6 and Clark Burroughs of The Hi-Lo’s.
