The Orpheum opened in 1927 as a vaudeville house, and it still looks like one — gilded plaster, a chandelier the size of a car, and 2,600 seats stacked under a ceiling that seems impossibly high. Broadway in Omaha runs its touring productions here, which means Hamilton, Les Mis, and the rest of the big shows play this stage.
There’s something about seeing a touring musical in a room this grand that a modern arena can’t touch. The sound is warm, the sightlines are good from almost everywhere, and the whole building feels like an event before the curtain even goes up.
It’s downtown on 16th Street, easy to pair with dinner in the Old Market. Book early for the big titles — they sell out, and the secondary market is not kind.