The Lied Center is the reason Broadway tours, world-class orchestras, and acts like Itzhak Perlman actually come to Nebraska. The 2,258-seat Main Stage — plus the intimate Carson Theater and the Lied Commons — anchors a season of Broadway, dance, classical, jazz, and contemporary artists that would be the envy of cities three times Lincoln’s size. It calls itself “Nebraska’s Home for the Arts,” and nobody in the state disputes it.
The part locals love: the Arts for All program offers free and half-priced tickets to most shows, and UNL students get into more than half the season’s performances free. Free backstage tours peel back the curtain on what it takes to run a room this size. It was built through a 1986 fundraising campaign finished by the Nebraska Unicameral — fitting, since the statewide tours program, Arts Across Nebraska, still carries the Lied out to communities across the state.
The ticket office is open weekdays 11 to 3. Season announcements are the talk of Lincoln’s arts crowd each spring, and the best seats go fast — sign up for the presale list if you plan to make this a habit.