Mac Rating: 5.00 | Votes: 1 | Date: 10/07/2026 04:38:00

The Rococo Theatre is a restored 1929 movie palace in downtown Lincoln, Nebraska, that now serves as the city's premier intimate concert and event venue. Originally opened on June 10, 1929, as the Stuart Theatre, the building featured Italian Romanesque architecture with Moorish influences, ornate terra cotta detailing, marble floors, and grand chandeliers. The venue operated as a first-run cinema for decades before the Dubinsky Brothers purchased it in 1971 and converted it into a modern movie theatre, covering the ornate interior with false ceilings and carpet. In July 2000, Doug Deeter purchased the theatre and undertook a meticulous restoration to reveal the original 1929 design. The false ceiling was torn down, the carpet was stripped from the walls and floors, the marble was restored, and the chandeliers were lowered to their original height. The venue reopened in 2001 as the Rococo Theatre, with traditional theatre seats replaced by tables and booths in a cabaret-style configuration. The Stuart Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 23, 2003. Today the Rococo Theatre hosts national touring musicians, comedians, film screenings, and private events across its orchestra, loge, and balcony levels, each with full bar service. The venue's combination of historic grandeur and modern sound and lighting systems makes it one of the most distinctive performance spaces in the Great Plains region. Located at 140 North 13th Street in the heart of Lincoln's downtown, it is easily accessible from Interstate 80.