Longtime Director

Each holiday season, when audiences settle in for A Christmas Carol at the Omaha Community Playhouse, they experience more than just another Christmas show. They can feel the heart and care of Susan (Susie) Baer Collins woven into every moment. Her touch, her artistry, and her leadership have shaped the production for decades, making it one of the Playhouse’s most beloved and enduring traditions.

Susie’s connection to OCP began long before she ever took a seat in the director’s chair. Born in Detroit and raised in Lincoln, she studied theatre at the University of Nebraska before setting out on the road as a young actress. Her performances caught the attention of OCP’s then–executive director Charles Jones, who first saw her perform at the Nebraska Repertory Theatre in 1975. A few years later, in 1978, Susie and her husband, Carl Beck, joined Jones at the Playhouse, not yet knowing they would spend the next four decades helping to define its creative legacy.

In those early years, Susie and Carl performed with the Playhouse’s Nebraska Theatre Caravan, before joining the staff full-time. They quickly became two of OCP’s most trusted and beloved directors, the kind of leaders actors love to work with because they bring out the best in everyone around them.

Susie’s directing style was distinctive, informed, and deeply rooted in research and emotional truth. She approached every production with careful study and a genuine desire to connect the story’s heart to the audience’s own. Longtime Playhouse costumer Denise Ervin once said, “Susie studies everything. She’s very put together before you even start. She knows what she wants.”

That care and clarity were never more evident than in her work on A Christmas Carol. For more than three decades, Susie helped carry forward Charles Jones’ iconic adaptation, directing and co-directing over 100 casts of the show, both in Omaha and across the country through the Nebraska Theatre Caravan. To her, A Christmas Carol wasn’t just a production. It was a living tradition and a celebration of compassion, generosity, and renewal.

Each year, she found new layers of meaning within Dickens’ story, ensuring that it never lost its magic or message. Even after her retirement, Susie returned to the Playhouse multiple times to guide new directors through the process of mounting the show, helping them honor its history while finding their own voice within it.

Actors who worked with Susie often speak of her rare gift for communication. She could sense what a performer needed. Whether it was encouragement, challenge, or quiet reflection, she knew exactly how to provide it. “She has that gift to speak to actors in their own language,” said actor and director Jim McKain. “If any actor, at any level, gets a chance to work with Susie, do it. You’ll come out of that process a better actor than you ever thought you could be.”

Beyond A Christmas Carol, Susie’s directorial range was vast. She helmed heart-stirring productions like Ragtime, The Secret Garden, and Carousel, along with powerful dramas and musical collaborations with Carl. They led the Playhouse artistically for 17 years, she as associate artistic director, he as artistic director. They guided OCP through a period of remarkable growth and creativity.

Even in retirement, Susie’s dedication to OCP never dimmed. She stepped in as interim artistic director three separate times, helping to ensure a smooth transition for new leadership. Each time, she brought her trademark steadiness and grace, a reminder of what true stewardship looks like.

Reflecting on her time at the Playhouse, Susie once said, “It wasn’t that I was hired to direct a play. I was hired to direct seasons. We had a family; I was working a job that people in my world would kill for. We considered ourselves very fortunate.”

That gratitude, paired with her artistry, intellect, and heart, continues to define her legacy. For generations of audiences and artists, Susan Baer Collins embodies the spirit of the Omaha Community Playhouse: creative, collaborative, and full of heart. And each December, as the lights rise on A Christmas Carol, her influence shines as bright as ever.