Arts and Entertainment

Things to Do at Penn State: April 7-14

A selection of cultural highlights across the University this weekend and next week

The national tour of "Hairspray" will visit Eisenhower Auditorium on the University Park campus at 7:30 p.m. on April 14. Credit: Jeremy DanielAll Rights Reserved.

What's happening at Penn State? Here's a look at some of the cultural events — both in-person and virtual — taking place across the University:

Performances

Small Island Big Song7:30 p.m., April 7, Eisenhower Auditorium, University Park campus. The activist-musicians of Small Island Big Song will perform to raise awareness of the environmental plights and heritages of their ocean nations. 

Ivyside Dance Ensemble — 7:30 p.m., April 7 and 8, Wolf Kuhn Theatre, Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts, Penn State Altoona. The campus' Ivyside Dance Ensemble will perform with Allied Motion Dance Company to present a performance that highlights superheroes, celebrates familial bonds, explores the cycle of addiction, reflects on self-imagery and external; perception, and even work in a metaphor for predatory behavior.

9th annual Profiles in Music: A Drum and Bugle Corps Showcase — 6 p.m., April 9, Pullo Center, Penn State York. The Lancers Drum and Bugle Corps from Hanover, Pennsylvania, will be featured. 

Bert Kreischer — 7 p.m., April 10, Bryce Jordan Center, University Park campus. Comedian Bert Kreischer brings his "Berty Boy Relapse Tour" to the University Park campus.

"Brigadoon"April 12-23, Playhouse Theatre, University Park campus. Penn State Centre Stage presents Lerner and Loewe's "Brigadoon." 

"Hairspray"7:30 p.m., April 14, Eisenhower Auditorium, University Park campus. The Tony Award-winning musical comedy stops at the University Park campus as part of a national tour.

Lectures

SciComm Speaker Series3:30 p.m., April 7, via livestream. Borum Chattoo, executive director of the Center for Media and Social Impact and an assistant professor at American University, will present "Why entertainment culture (and comedy) matters for social change and sustainability." Free.

Richard B. Lippin Lecture in Ethics: Katrina Karkazis 6 p.m., April 7, 101 Thomas Building, University Park campus. Katyrina Karkazis, anthropologist, bioethicist and author of "Testosterone: An Unauthorized Biography," will present "Sex Itself: The Science, Politics and Ethics of Categorization." Free.

Stanley P. Mayers Endowed Lecture: Kevin Frick6 p.m., April 7, 117 HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. Kevin Frick, a 1991 health policy and administration alumnus, will present "Purposeful Lifelong Learning: A Key to Professional Success." Free. 

Mary E. Rolling Reading Series: Tim Seibles7:30 p.m., April 7, Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library, University Park campus, and via livestream. Poet Tim Seibles will serve as the final event of this year's reading series. Free.

Research Coffee Hour11 a.m., April 8, via livestream. A preview of "We Are Penn State: 2022 Student Oral History Projects" will serve as the Eberly Family Special Collections Library's first Research Coffee Hour of 2022. Free.

Rev. Nontombi Naomi Tutu3:30 p.m., April 11, via Zoom. The Rev. Nontomni Naomi Tutu, daughter of the late Desmond Tutu and a race and gender justice activist, will present "Building Gender Coalitions Across Racial Lines." Free. 

2022 Kenneth Burke Memorial Lecture: Ralph Cintron — 4 p.m., April 14, Hintz Family Alumni Center, University Park campus, and via livestream. Ralph Cintron, author of the book "Democracy as Fetish," and a faculty member at the University of Illinois at Chicago, will present "Is Democracy Under Attack?" Free.

Pockrass Memorial Lecture: Erica Ciszek5:30 p.m., April 14, via Zoom. Erica Ciszek, an assistant professor at the University of Texas, will present "Voices and Representation: Amplification and the Limits of Visibility." Free, but registration required.

Events

Campus Pride Month Through April, various Penn State campuses. The Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity, in collaboration with partners around Penn State and along with campuses across the commonwealth, is hosting events throughout April to celebrate Pride Month. Free.

Earth Month Through April, various Penn State campuses. The University is celebrating and promoting the environment and sustainability throughout the month of April. Free.

Cafe Laura Theme Dinner: The Voyage: A Sail Through the Mediterranean  April 7, Cafe Laura, Mateer Building, University Park campus. Students in HM 430 Advanced Food Production and Service Management prepare a series of themed dinners throughout the semester to be served in the student-run Cafe Laura restaurant. Reservations required.

Cafe Laura Theme Dinner: Taste of Tuscany  April 13, Cafe Laura, Mateer Building, University Park campus. Students in HM 430 Advanced Food Production and Service Management prepare a series of themed dinners throughout the semester to be served in the student-run Cafe Laura restaurant. Reservations required.

Cafe Laura Theme Dinner: Aloha: An Escape to the Big Island  April 14, Cafe Laura, Mateer Building, University Park campus. Students in HM 430 Advanced Food Production and Service Management prepare a series of themed dinners throughout the semester to be served in the student-run Cafe Laura restaurant. Reservations required.

Virtual exhibits

"The World According to Doyle: Editorial Cartoons from The Jerry Doyle Papers at Penn State" — This Penn State University Libraries digital exhibition examines Jerry Doyle, one of the preeminent editorial cartoonists of the 20th century. Free.

"African Brilliance and the Purpose of Art" — This interactive virtual tour accompanied the Palmer Museum of Art’s spring 2020 special exhibition "African Brilliance: A Diplomat’s Sixty Years of Collecting" and will remain available throughout the current academic year. Explore the exhibition installation, images of selected works, videos for guided viewing and related art-making activity suggestions. Free.

"Celebrating the ADA: The Legacy and Evolution of Disability Rights and Lived Experiences at Penn State" — The University Libraries virtual exhibit explores the first 100 years of national disability rights legislation and the movement's impact on the Penn State community. Free.

"Global Asias: Contemporary Asian and Asian American Art from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundations" — This web-based, interactive program from the Palmer Museum of Art features guided video tours of selected exhibition artists in addition to an introductory overview by the curator. Learn about the “Global Asias” concept of personal and cultural identity in a contemporary world. Artists featured include: Jacob Hashimoto, Dinh Q. Lê, Hung Liu, Takashi Murakami, Roger Shimomura, Do Ho Suh and Rirkrit Tiranvanija. Free.

"Pandemic Spaces (1918 Edition)" — The University Libraries virtual display explores architecture related to the devastating influenza epidemic of 1918. Free.

"Who Am I? Art and Identity" — This self-directed, interactive, online tour features a selection of objects from diverse areas of the Palmer Museum of Art’s collection, related through a common exploration of personal or cultural identity. Free.

"Women in Art: Activism + Resistance" — This self-directed, interactive, Palmer Museum of Art online tour is intended for college-level courses and features a selection of objects by female artists in the museum’s collection. In celebration of the centennial of the 19th Amendment, this tour highlights artists working in a variety of mediums during the 20th and 21st centuries who have contributed to political, social and cultural change. Free.

In-person exhibits

Visual Arts Annual Graduate Research ExhibitionThrough April 17, HUB-Robeson Center Gallery, University Park campus. The exhibition features the works of current master of fine arts candidates. Free.

"An American Place: Selections from the James and Barbara Palmer Collection" Through April 24, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. As part of its 50th anniversary celebration, the Palmer is exhibiting its signature collection of American art. Free.

"Printmaking in the Age of Dürer"Through May 8, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. Engravings and woodcuts by Albert Dürer, Germany's most important artist of the Renaissance and the first to fully realize the possibilities of printmaking as an expressive vehicle equal to that of painting and sculpture. Free.

"Lunchbox Moments: Seek Understanding. Share Stories. Stop Hate"Through May 15, exhibition cases, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. A multi-faceted exhibition about "lunchbox moments," formative occurrences in many Asian Americans' lives where a traditional Asian meal is eaten at school or home and the meal elicits some sort of reaction, whether it is positive or negative. Free.

"A Way Through: Abstract Art of the 1940s"Through May 15, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. The exhibit provides the comprehensive look at midcentury abstraction in the Palmer's history. Free.

"FRESH" Through May 17, HUB-Robeson Galleries, University Park campus. "FRESH" invites viewers to look for what makes someone unique as an individual and to celebrate each person's journey, and features works by Harrison Boden, Emily Furr and Sydney Lee. Free.

"Inside the Frames"Through May 17, HUB-Robeson Galleries, University Park campus. The exhibit tackles the intricacies of body image and disordered eating, and promotes body positivity and acceptance. Free.

Zombie Ant ExperienceThrough May, School of Science complex, Penn State Behrend. An interactive sculpture melding art and science models the interactions between spores and ants. Free.

"Scatter Terrain"Through July 17, Art Alley, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. This exhibition presents pockets of "terrain" — peculiar landscapes, architectural gestures, intimate domestic corners — as a metaphorical means of escape from the pandemic and connection to those who are far away. Free.

Last Updated April 6, 2022