Scene from Monty Python's Spamalot, summer 2011.

Nebraska Youth Theatre

The Haymarket Theatre began in 2002 as a children's theatre education program, and the Nebraska Youth Theatre is still at the heart of our mission. We produce the highest-quality children's theatre, staging ten full-length titles per year. Each year hundreds of Lincoln-area students are featured on our stage. Over the years, thousands of young people have appeared in scores of shows which include Les Miserables, Robin Hood, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, Anne of Green Gables, Mr. Popper's Penguins, Schoolhouse Rock, Young Dracula I & II, A Christmas Carol, Holiday House, South Pacific, Oklahoma, Cinderella, Godspell, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, Guys and Dolls, Fiddler on the Roof and many more!

 Professional Repertory Season

Fred Stuart in Cabaret, 2007

We have since grown to include a Professional Repertory Season and our stage serves as a venue for some of Nebraska's best performing arts groups. We launched our Mainstage Repertory Series with Bob Hall and David Richmond's The Passion of Dracula. Our past seasons have included The Who's Tommy, Hamlet, Lord of the Flies, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Cabaret, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Urinetown, Animal Farm, and New York Rock. Our repertory series has become a staple of the Lincoln theatre scene. We have presented seven seasons of top-quality drama, including more than five of the Lincoln Journal Star's annual top ten best performances and the #1 best performance of the decade for Pride and Prejudice in 2010.

The Haymarket Theatre was founded by Fred Stuart who continued as our Executive and Artistic Director until 2008.  The Theatre has remained in it's present location since that time.  We became a non-profit corporation in 2003.  Sean Schmeits, our current director, worked with Fred on our Youth and Mainstage seasons for four years. Our programs have become a staple of Lincoln's arts scene and for over ten years have helped to make Downtown Lincoln the vibrant place that it is.

Here are a few of the highlights from our first ten years:

  • Fred Stuart founded The Haymarket Theatre in 2002 with the goal of providing outstanding theatre education toLincoln’s young actors and quality professional theatre to the community.
  •  Hamlet wins best performance of 2003, Lincoln Journal Star.
  •  2003, Friends of the Haymarket Theatre started as fundraising support for the Haymarket Theatre, raising over $100,000 in donations to date and $100,000 in grants to date.
  •  Pride & Prejudice, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Darrow, three of the top ten best performances of 2004, Lincoln Journal Star.
  •  Executive Director Fred Stuart recipient of the Sam Davidson Award for his contribution to Theatre in Lincoln, Mayors Arts Awards 2005.
  •  Cabaret, one of the ten best performances of 2005, Lincoln Journal Star.
  •  I am My Own Wife, One of the ten best performances of 2006.
  •  Artistic Director Bob Hall recipient of the Governor’s Arts Award 2009.
  •  Pride & Prejudice, best theatrical production of the decade, 2010, Lincoln Journal Star.
  •  Roof collapse closes the theatre temporarily July 2010.
  •  Grand Reopening of the renovated Haymarket Theatre, January 2011.
  • Angels in America, Maginalia @ 40, Chiropractical and Monty Python's Spamalot chosen by Lincoln Journal Star as top performances in 2011.