SNAP! Productions goes all 'Freakshow' on Omaha, starting this weekend

"Freakshow" opens Friday at SNAP! Productions.

The 80-minute play, by Carson Krietzer, is about characters in a traveling oddities show who are growing angry about being caged and stared at yet still comfortable in knowing their place in the universe.

The "freaks" become increasingly defiant in their despair and begin to rebel in the hopes of freedom.

The cast features Tatiana Sandoval, Nick Knipe, Dale Hartshorn, Nathan Dunham, Giles Russo, Ivy Farrell and Tasha Helms. Kaitlyn Rudeen is the director.

Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through Nov. 23. There's also a special industry night at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 18.

Tickets are available at snapproductions.com . They're $30 for adults, $20 for seniors, military personnel, students and groups of 10 or more.

SNAP's headquarters, Ghost Light Theatre, is at 2221 Thurston Circle, Bellevue.

'Couples' show at Rogers Gallery

An exhibit featuring the works of local couples who are visual artists opens Friday at the Roberta & Bob Rogers Gallery, 1806 Vinton St.

The couples work in a variety of state-of-the-art media, including watercolors, digital images, photography, color pencil drawings on paper, handmade books, letterpress works, graphite drawings on paper, ceramics and more.

Show participants are Becky Hermann and Jim Butkus; Bekah Jerde and Bart Vargas; Susan McGilvrey and James Freeman; Jody Boyer and Russ Nordman; Deborah Murphy and Dennis Wattier; Denise Brady and Bob Schenck; and Mary and Gary Day.

The exhibit, titled "Couples: For the Love of Art," will open Friday with a reception from 5 to 9 p.m. It runs through Jan. 4, 2025.

Regular gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays.

Omaha Symphony, school choirs to perform

"Elijah," Felix Mendelssohn's oratorio about the life of a prophet, is this year's Choral Collaborative concert featuring the Omaha Symphony and high school choirs.

The musicians and singers will perform the legendary piece at 2 p.m. Sunday in the Kiewit Concert Hall at the Holland Center, 1200 Douglas St. The 1846 work, considered to be Mendelssohn's masterpiece, is based on 1 Kings and 2 Kings of the Old Testament in the Bible.

It's composed in the same vein as Mendelssohn's Baroque predecessors, Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel.

About 300 members of six choirs will participate. Schools featured are Bellevue West, Omaha Central, Creighton Prep, Elkhorn, Fremont and Millard South.

Omaha Symphony Resident Conductor Ernest Richardson will lead the musicians. A. Barron Breland, a music professor at Creighton University, will be choirmaster.

Tickets, ranging from $20 to $85, are available at omahasymphony.org .

New play for Voices in Alliance

Voices in Alliance, with the goal to celebrate LGBTQ+ pride through theater, is premiering "Collective Rage: A Play in 5 Betties" on Thursday.

The play, by Jen Silverman, was described as "'The Vagina Monologues' times five" in a 2018 review from The New York Times. It focuses on the diverse — and graphic — stories of five women named, not surprisingly, Bettie, using satire and other devices.

The Times also called it "a full-tilt lesbian/bi-curious/genderqueer/Shakespearean comedy for everyone."

Cast members at Voices in Alliance are Jennifer Gilg, Madi Barker, Delaney Jackson, Shiloh Eggerson and Amie James.

The production will be at the Shelterbelt Theatre, 4383 Nicholas St., Suite 204.

Showtimes are 7 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through Nov. 17. To purchase tickets, $25 general admission, go to viaomaha.org .

Opera Omaha Cotillion marks 40 years

The 40th graduating class of the Opera Omaha Guild's Cotillion will celebrate at an event this Saturday night.

The guild, which raises funds for Nebraska's only opera company, offers lessons in social skills learned at dance classes for sixth and seventh graders. Students learn the arts of dining, ballroom dancing and how to be a proper guest and good host or hostess. The classes emphasize how to meet new people and get along with others rather than perfect dance steps.

The graduation ceremony, which includes family members, will be at 6 p.m. at the Embassy Suites La Vista. Guests will include Opera Omaha General Director Allison Swenson, Guild President Lora Kaup and former Guild members who volunteered for the Cotillion.

A performance by Holland Community Opera Fellow Rosemary Joyce and pianist Kai Song Chan will round out the evening.

Book talk at Lauritzen Gardens

Poet and author Camille T. Dungy will deliver the Loveland Garden Club Lecture at Lauritzen Gardens on Thursday night.

Dungy will talk about her book "Soil: The Story of a Black Mother's Garden," which tells the story of her seven-year quest to make her Fort Collins, Colorado, garden more diverse to honor her heritage. Her discussion will examine the environment, social justice, culture, history and family with the goal of expanding how we all talk about the natural world.

Dungy also has written four poetry collections and is the recipient of the 2011 American Book Award. She has had fellowships with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference. She currently is an English professor at Colorado State University.

She will have a book signing at a dessert reception after the 7 to 9 p.m. lecture.

Tickets for the event are $10 for Lauritzen members and $15 for nonmembers. They're available at lauritzengardens.org .

Shakespeare in a bar returns

Old School Shakespeare Omaha will be back at it with performances of "Macbeth" this weekend.

The loosely organized group features serious actors who have no director and only one rehearsal to present some of William Shakespeare's finest works. And the rehearsal is usually in a bar, or maybe two.

This weekend's shows are 7 p.m. Saturday at Site 1 Brewing, 2566 Farnam St., and 6 p.m. Sunday at the Benson Theatre, 6054 Maple St. Seating is first-come, first-served and a $20 donation per person is suggested.

, 402-444-1267

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