When you think of Hollywood, California, your mind may conjure visuals of red carpets, movie stars, the Chinese Theatre, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Oscars, and film lots where movies are made. The first production of our 2025 season is titled Hollywood, Nebraska, which might evoke some different imagery (maybe a red carpet in a cornfield!), but while movies, music, and creativity play a large role in this production, home might just be the main character. We reached out to the performers who will be in the Nebraska premiere of our production of Hollywood, Nebraska, at the Lofte Community Theatre to get their thoughts on the show, how it relates to them, and their ideas of home and family.
Milli Potmesil is playing the role of Katie, a teenage girl who dreams of flying away from the small (fictional) town of Hatcher, Nebraska, where the show is set. “Katie… has a passion for acting and performing, and her idea of home is wherever she can fulfill that, whether it’s New York, LA, or even Denver,’ Milli says. This production will be Milli’s first show outside of her high school. “I also really connect to my character and the story as a whole,” Milli says. “My idea of home is definitely performing. It’s like Katie says, ‘I love the idea of being someone else.’ It is so right for me to slip into the shoes of a character that whatever character I’m playing becomes home for me.”
Hunter Sieckmeyer, who is returning to the Lofte stage after his Born-in-a-Barn debut as Cogsworth in 2024’s Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, relates to his character in a different way. “Contrary to what you’ll see in this play, I don’t actually like potato salad all that much,” Hunter noted. Hunter plays Lance, who was born and raised in Hatcher. “He has a great deal of love for his hometown… and he’s more than happy with the simple life he lives there.” Hunter notes that Lance may not talk about his family much, but they stay with him in other ways: “Memories and lessons from his folks, morals, skills, even hidden talents… he uses these principles to guide his path in life. They’ve worked pretty well so far, and he’s grateful to his family for that.” Hunter has lived in Lincoln or Omaha for most of his life, so the small-town experience isn’t one he is familiar with, but where he does understand Lance’s character are the family dynamics. “My relationship with my dad has quite a few similarities to Lance’s relationship with his parents: guiding role models that imparted great lessons that shaped both my and Lance’s identities.”
“Family are the people who are there to support you no matter what.” That is what the character of Alma believes. Alma is played by Melinda Schneider and is the matriarch of her family. Alma’s daughter, Jane, leaves home with the goal of exploring her creativity and moves to California to try and make a career in performing on camera. In the story, we see how Alma’s life is affected when her daughter comes back home for a short time. Melinda finds that she relates to Alma in many ways. “My family, both blood and extended, have always been the center of my world. I have tried to be a supportive wife, mother, grandmother, and friend. This play shows the strength of family and how coming home again can lead to greater personal growth and happiness.”
Madison Garey, who is playing Andrea, might agree with this sentiment. “I graduated high school in 2005,” says Madison. “I grew up in a small town and didn’t feel like I belonged. I lived all over the world (in Germany and South Korea) and in the United States (Virginia, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Oklahoma) due to the military. While stationed overseas, I completed my bachelor's degree, the first in my family to do so. At the end of my service, I came back to Nebraska and found that while things had changed, so much had stayed the same. Andrea, the role that Madison is playing, is a childhood friend of Jane’s who also left her small-town home of Hatcher and is returning for family reasons, but Andrea instead went to New York. The two girls had different upbringings and yet pursued similar paths in different ways. According to Andrea, “There is nothing actually worth doing in small town Nebraska. There’s no music there; escape as soon as possible.” But for Madison, who is performing the role, her feelings of home and homecoming are quite a bit different. “Coming home did make me learn about myself,” Madison noted. “We must seek the music in our lives where we are. Joy in life is a mindset, not a location.” Madison currently lives in the small town of Manley, Nebraska.
While some folks may travel the world and spend years away from the place they grew up, Brandy Hall says, “one of the joys of travel has always been coming back home to Nebraska.” Brandy plays Jane, Alma’s daughter who moved to California and has now returned home for a short time. “Jane’s idea of home is connected to her goals in life and her independence. She views her childhood home as something she ‘endured’ on her way to something else. But family is an important obligation for Jane.” Jane makes a point to regularly check in on her mother and ensure things are being taken care of. “But she hasn’t been successful in forging a family connection in her adult life.” For Brandy, Nebraska has always been home, and her parents' house has always been a couple of hours' drive away. “While Jane couldn’t wait to get out, I have a hard time thinking of moving away from my home and family. Being surrounded by family is my biggest joy, and that’s what made this role so much fun! It’s been fantastic to work through a role that makes me step outside of my way of viewing the world.”
With so many different points of view, different ideas of home, different thoughts about family, and different perspectives on the situations, audiences may find it easier to pick a side or understand one character over another. But we encourage you to try and see the situation from the perspective of a character you might not always relate to. These characters follow their hearts to wherever home is for them, whether that means they follow them to a new city or state or just down the street. And, once they find it, then it’s just like they say in the movies, as Dorthy said, “There’s no place like home.”
Hollywood, Nebraska, has much to offer and to share with you, so we hope you’ll join us for this cozy look at small-town Nebraska life and the state premiere! You can get tickets at lofte.org/tickets, or call our box office at 402-234-2553. Performances are March 21, 22, 23, 27, 28, 29, & 30. Shows start at 7:00 on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and 2:00 on Sundays. The concession stand will open 1 hour before the show starts, and the house will be open for seating at this time as well. We suggest PG13
More about Hollywood, Nebraska: Two forty-something actresses have returned to their dying hometown in the Great Plains of Nebraska. TV star Jane is in from Los Angeles to check on her ailing mother. Stage actress Andrea is back from New York City to bury her father. Can childhood friends overcome past hurts to find hope in a place they left behind? Fall in love with a new American comedy about the urge to be creative, the itch to move away, and the power of coming home. Our production of Hollywood, Nebraska will be a Nebraska premiere!
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