The Joyo Theatre has enjoyed a long run. While the current Joyo opened on Jan. 20, 1937, with Robert Cummings in “Three Cheers for Love,” the actual building is celebrating 100 years.
Owner Dwight Carter sits in an American Bodiform Retractor seat, which “fit the contour of the human body.” Those seats were installed in the Joyo in the 1950s.
ARTHUR H. TRICKETT-WILE,Journal Star
A vintage projector overlooks the seating area at the Joyo Theatre.
ARTHUR H. TRICKETT-WILE, Journal Star
An internal view of the seating area on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, at the Joyo Theatre in Lincoln. For $200, guests can rent out the space for private screenings and rent out the marquee — with or without a private booking — for $50.
ARTHUR H. TRICKETT-WILE,Journal Star
The marquee of the Joyo Theatre, 6102 Havelock Ave., offered a sympathetic message to Scott Frost on Monday, a day after he was fired as Nebraska's football coach.
NOAH RIFFE, Journal Star
The concessions area in the Joyo Theatre sports vintage signage and fixtures.
ARTHUR H. TRICKETT-WILE, Journal Star
Joyo Theatre owner Dwight Carter stands under the marquee Tuesday. Carter has kept the lights on at the Havelock movie theater for nearly three decades.
ARTHUR H. TRICKETT-WILE, Journal Star
Vintage candy and prize machines can be found in the lobby area on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, at the Joyo Theatre in Lincoln.
ARTHUR H. TRICKETT-WILE,Journal Star
Antique column light fixtures glow with multicolored bulbs on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in the seating area at the Joyo Theatre in Lincoln.
ARTHUR H. TRICKETT-WILE,Journal Star
Lincoln's Joyo Theatre in Havelock was the subject of one of Bob Hanna's sketches.
Journal Star archives
An unidentified moviegoer vamps as Dr. Frank-N-Furter during a March 1979 showing of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show."
Lincoln Journal Star archive
Owner Don Montgomery sells tickets to a show at the Joyo in December, 1982.
