07/29/2026
We'll get back to our retrospective in just a second, but we want to take a moment to tell you that time is running out to get tickets for our 50th Anniversary Gala! Tickets are only available through August 2nd (this Sunday)! Join us for a look back at our 50 years. Dinner will be served courtesy of Rathe Family BBQ; all attendees will be given "swag bags" and access to our silent auction! After dinner, join us at The Lofte for a presentation that you won't want to miss. Get tickets at lofte.org/tickets or call 402-234-2553 today! And now, back to our weekly retrospective.
"Through all of my adventures at The Lofte, I have met some of the most amazing people. Even when you play a small role, usher, or sweep popcorn, you are helping the Lofte family and giving the greatest experiences to our audience. You will laugh, you will cry, and above all, you will be loved." Our current board president, Aaron Spracklin, said these words when he was awarded the Lofte scholarship. And it's as true today as it was when he said it in 2014. As a member of the Lofte community, you will be, and are, loved. At this point in time, we had five shows a year, each running for a minimum of three weekends. If we didn't have a show, there was a special event in the works, and some of those special events are featured in the center of the image here! At that time, at The Lofte Community Theatre, there was never a dull moment!
2012 marked our 36th year, and things were so busy at The Lofte that we needed multiple pages to fit all of the events on our season flyer. This year our special events included the return of Joseph Hall's Elvis performance, and a new event, "Rave On - The Buddy Holly Experience," featuring Billy McGuigan. All that, plus our Annual Meeting and Volunteer Recognition Event, all before the season even officially started. Of course, the Missoula Children's Theatre returned in the summer; this year they performed Hansel & Gretel. And, once again, we had our Veterans' Day performance in November, this time featuring The 43rd Army Band. We also hosted a Youth Theatre Education workshop in the summer. The winner of the Lofte Scholarship for the year was Lizzy Pegler, and we hosted two high school one-act play competitions again. Our season opened in late May with "The Sunshine Boys." We followed that up with "Singin' in the Rain," and yes, we really did make it rain on stage! Next up was a heartwarming comedy, "Almost, Maine," followed by a laugh-out-loud farce, "Whose Wives Are They Anyway?" The season closed with a reprise of our world-premiere holiday production, "Christmas at Leon's," which once again allowed patrons to join us on stage in Leon's Diner. In addition to our on-stage endeavors, we also began construction on our costume shop this year, which can be found out the back stage door of the facility. We also started work on our Highway 1 Road Sign, which can still be found there today.
Come 2013, we showed no signs of slowing down. Throughout this year we finished both of our major construction projects. A cutting of "Almost, Maine" from our previous season was taken to the Nebraska Association of Community Theatres (NACT) competition in early spring. It was directed by Corey Misek. Joseph Hall's Elvis returned, as well as Billy McGuigan, but this time in a Beatles tribute titled "Yesterday and Today!" We hosted another educational experience called "Spring Fling," which allowed students from Cass County to come and learn about theatre. The Missoula Children's Theatre performed "The Frog Prince" in the summer, and this year's Veterans' Day band was The Southeast Nebraska Community Band. In fact, the SNCB liked playing at the Lofte so much, we've had them back every year we could to play our Veterans' Day salute since. We again hosted high school one-act competitions, and Matt Bailey was our scholarship winner this year. In May, we officially started the season with "The Dixie Swim Club." (Author's Note: This was the title of the play at the time we performed it. The title has since been changed to The Sweet Delilah Swim Club.) Our musical for the summer was "The Producers," a Mel Brooks comedy hit, when it was on Broadway. For the most part, our audiences loved it, but we know the story isn't everyone's cup of tea - you can't please everyone. However, The Lofte and its performers did receive nominations for the 2013 Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards - Best Musical, Best Director of a Musical for Kevin Colbert, Best Actor in a Musical for Harold Scott as Max Bialystock, and Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for Jim McKain as Roger DeBris. We followed our musical up with the play "The Boys Next Door," and then another musical, "Nunset Boulevard," which is a part of the 'Nunsense Universe' of shows. Our season concluded with "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever!" with a staggering 56-person cast!
There were a couple of quieter months in there, but come February of 2014, the barn was alive once more! This time, musical acts included a mother-daughter duo, "Belles and Whistles," and Billy McGuigan returned with his Buddy Holly "Rave On" show. Pilgrim Classic Country came and performed country classics. This year at our Annual Meeting and Volunteer Recognition event, President Anne Pope stepped down as chairman of the board. And stepping up to fill her shoes was Jeff Johnston. The Missoula Children's Theatre came in the summer and put up "The Secret Garden." We also hosted a night of improvisational comedy called "Whose Lofte is it Anyway?" Later in the year, we again hosted Joseph Hall and the return of the Southeast Nebraska Community Band for Veterans' Day. As we previously mentioned, the Lofte Scholarship went to Aaron Spracklin this year. Our first show of the season was "Dearly Beloved," a Jones, Hope, and Wooten Comedy. The musical of the summer was "The Wizard of Oz," complete with a pre-show picnic dinner we called "The Yellow Brick Bistro," and character meet-and-greets! Next up was "King o' the Moon," a sequel to a play we did in 2009 called "Over the Tavern." Then came "Wrong Window," a comedic Hitchcock parody. The season closed with "Christmas Belles," which was a direct sequel to our season opener.
To kick off 2015, we entered the NACT competition, this time with a cutting from a show called "These Shining Lives," a story about radium watch painting women, directed by Allison Bauers. Our production placed second in the state and was awarded best set. In addition, Janet Sorenson was awarded best costumes, and acting awards went to Melinda Mead for Best Actress and Kevin Colbert for Best Supporting Actor. The group presented a free public performance at The Lofte for all interested parties. But that wasn't the only special event this year, far from it! We hosted "Plain Folk: A Lofte Home Companion," featuring Born-in-a-Barn players and a night of relaxing Nebraska-themed fun. Nebraska native and OEAA winner Matt Whipkey, a local singer-songwriter, also performed on the Lofte stage. Patrons joined us for performances of "Love Letters," meant to inspire romance and nostalgia in our audiences. The Missoula Children's Theatre presented Sleeping Beauty, and "Whose Lofte is it Anyway?" returned for improvised comedy fun. The Veterans' Day salute returned once again. This year's scholarship recipient was Trenton Warner, and one-act play competitions returned to the Lofte stage. The season opened with "Messiah on the Frigidaire." This production also inaugurated our "Throwback Thursday" pricing; when it debuted, it was $10, as opposed to today's $12. Next, for the musical this summer, "Godspell" returned to the Lofte stage for the first time in 38 seasons, and the first time in the "new barn." Following this was a Pulitzer Prize-winning production, "Proof." The next show was "Nana's Naughty Knickers," and we don't think we've had two shows in the same season that were so very different since, especially back-to-back! This season was also our very first Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre, which still happens every year, around Halloween. And, to close out the season, we produced "Dear Santa."
2016 was our 40th season. Once again, we took a show to the NACT festival, "Shakespeare's a Dick," which was, once again, directed by Allison Bauers. We came away, once again, winning the top award of "Outstanding Production" for the first time since 2016! Actor Doug Rothgeb was awarded Best Supporting Actor, Sylvia Conley won Best Supporting Actress, and Nick Haussler won Best Set for his design. Back at the barn, we decided it was time to celebrate. 40 years is the ruby anniversary, so we decided to hold a birthday party that we dubbed our "Ruby Jubilee!" We had cake and ice cream, many people performed, we charged a small entry fee of $5, and we looked back fondly on the last 40 years. Other highlights of the year include upgrading our sound system with added body mics and getting our liquor license, which meant we could sell alcohol. We also adjusted our schedule and, rather than doing five shows a year, we would do six going forward. And, rather than doing them all for three weekends, we split them into two groups: three shows (the musical, the farce, and the holiday show) ran for three weekends, and the other three shows ran for just two weekends. But that didn't mean that the special events didn't continue - they did, with gusto! The Bess Streeter Aldrich Foundation sponsored a showing of "Cheers for Miss Bishop" at The Lofte. We also hosted a one-night-only Melodrama as a tribute to the melodramas that we did in our first few years. The Dance It Dance Company held their recital at The Lofte. We again hosted our Veterans' Day program, and, once again, The Missoula Children's Theatre returned, this time with Rapunzel. The season opened with a show dubbed the director's choice, called "The Christmas Spirit," though it had less to do with Christmas and more to do with one's spirit. The next show of the season was "Leading Ladies," followed by "The Music Man," making its 3rd appearance on the Lofte stage, but first in the new barn. The musical also featured a "Pick-a-little talk-a-little" picnic event for patrons to eat on stage before the show. Next up we had "The Red Velvet Cake War," another Jones, Hope, and Wooten comedy. "Funny Money" hit the stage next, delivering constant laughs. The season, and the decade, concluded with a smaller cast Christmas show, "'Twas the Night Before Christmas." Though we did have to cancel one performance due to inclement weather.
"The memories of the last 40 years are like a tidal wave. So many people, so many stories, and so much history. However, my greatest satisfaction is seeing family and friends of a performer rush the stage after a show and tell an actor how much they enjoyed a performance," said Artistic Director, Kevin Colbert, while reflecting on 40 seasons of theatre at The Lofte. And the memories will keep going here! And remember - to see these pictures and more, be sure to get tickets for our 50th Anniversary Gala on August 15th - ONLY 5 DAYS LEFT TO GET TICKETS! Visit lofte.org/tickets or call 402-234-2553 to get yours today!
