Arts and Entertainment

Things to Do at Penn State: Feb. 14-21

A selection of cultural events happening at the University this weekend and next week

Penn State Centre Stage's "Hands on a Hardbody" will run from Feb. 18-28 at the Playhouse Theatre on the University Park campus. Credit: Patrick Mansell / Penn State. Creative Commons

What's happening at Penn State? Here's a look at some of the cultural events taking place at the University this weekend and next week:

Performances

"Violet" — Feb. 12-16, Penn State Downtown Theatre Center, State College. Based on "The Ugliest Pilgrim," this play explores what beauty is, explores our flaws and what things we let separate us from the world.

Jim Brickman: "Share the Love"7:30 p.m., Feb. 15, the Pullo Center, Penn State York. Pianist Jim Brickman brings his distinctive style to the York campus. 

"Hands on a Hardbody" Feb. 19-28, Playhouse Theatre, University Park campus. Penn State Centre Stage presents this country rock-style musical.

"Beautiful — The Carole King Musical"Feb. 19-24, Eisenhower Auditorium, University Park campus. The Tony and Grammy Award-winning Broadway musical about the early life and career of singer/songwriter Carole King debuts at Penn State.

Events

"Art After Hours — Date Night @ The Palmer"6-9 p.m., Feb. 14, Palmer Museum of Art. Singles and couples can check out artwork, create one-of-a-kind cards and participate in art-inspired games. Free.

IFC/Panhellenic Dance MarathonFeb. 15-17, Bryce Jordan Center, University Park campus. The Dance Marathon, or THON, is the culmination  of efforts by the largest student-run philanthropy in the world as students dance for 46 hours straight to support children with pediatric cancer and their families. Free.

"007: Live and Let Dine — A Black-Tie Dining Experience" — Feb. 19, 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.

"Me, The Other"7 p.m., Feb. 19, Freeman Auditorium, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. A screening of a documentary focusing on a diverse group of students living in Washtenaw County in southeast Michigan. Free.

"Cruise along the Mediterranean" Feb. 20, 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.

"Dia de los muerto, a Mexican fiesta" Feb. 21, 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.

Lectures

"Collection Focus: Ceramics from Around the World" 12:10 p.m., Feb. 15, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. Chris Staley, distinguished professor of art, will be featured. Free.

"From Baltimore to Broadway" 7 p.m., Feb. 18, Wolf Kuhn Theatre, Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts, Penn State Altoona. "Hamilton" actor Bryan Terrell Clark will discuss stories from his life, as well as perform songs from "Hamilton" and original material. Free, but tickets required.

Fred Vuich7:30 p.m., Feb. 18, 258 Willard Building, University Park campus. Award-winning sports photographer and Penn State alumnus Fred Vuich will discuss his career and share samples of his work. Free.

"American Art Lecture — 'Loftiness' and Early New York Skyscrapers"4:30 p.m., Feb. 19, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. Craig Zabel, associate professor of art history, will discuss issues such as capitalistic battles to build the tallest skyscapers, the architectural celebration of heigh, rooms in the sky and the artistic response to urban towers. Free.

"The Three Terrible Ideas Weakening Gen Z and Damaging Universities and Democracies" 5 p.m., Feb. 21, 100 Thomas Building, University Park campus. Jonathan Haidt, New York Times bestselling author and the Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership at New York University, will talk about how changes on college campuses in recent years prevent the free exchange of ideas fundamental to any university. Free.

"Before the Human: Africans, Sovereigns and Slaves" 6 p.m., Feb. 21, 160 Willard Building, University Park campus. Herman Bennett, professor of history at the City University of New York, will talk about his scholarly work in the history of the African diaspora. Free.

Exhibits

"The Bearded Lady Project: Challenging the Face of Science" — Nov. 1-Feb. 22, Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum and Art Gallery, 18 Deike Building, University Park campus. A traveling art exhibit featuring photographs highlighting female paleontologists in the field and in their laboratories. Free.

"Subjective Spaces: Drawings and Collages by Robert Reed" — Jan. 5-May 19, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. This intimate retrospective features 16 selections from Reed's drawings and collages. Free. 

MLK Week Student Poster Designs — Jan. 10-Feb. 27, Sidewater Commons, Pattee Library, University Park campus. Twenty student posters based on the 2019 MLK Week theme, "Where Do We Go From Here: A Tradition of Resistance," created by a graphic design course are on display. Free.

"Plug In, Turn On" — Feb. 7-March 31, HUB-Robeson Galleries, HUB-Robeson Building, University Park campus. This two-person exhibition of works by Pittsburgh-based artists Ian Brill and Kevin Clancy, alongside "Architecting Atmospheres," an exhibition of Penn State architecture students, uses sound, light and space to create environmental atmospheres. Free.

"Race and Revolution: Still Separate, Still Unequal" — Jan. 29-April 6, Woskob Family Gallery, 146 S. Allen St., State College. This traveling exhibition of contemporary artwork and historical documents explores the ongoing issue of school segregation in the United States. Free.

"Amazing Stories: Recent Acquisitions" — Jan. 12-May 26, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. This exhibit highlights a large selection of prints by artists whose work relies heavily on representation and storytelling to explore ethnic identity and stereotypes, multicultural histories and personal narratives. Free.

"From the Rooftops: John Sloan and the Art of a New Urban Space" — Feb. 3-May 12, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. The museum will feature a major loan exhibition of Ashcan School painter John Sloan, who focused on New York City rooftops in the first half of the 20th century. Free.

"The Secret Lives of Girls and Women" — Jan. 29-Sept. 1, 104 Paterno Library, University Park campus. This exhibit of archival materials from the University Libraries' Eberly Family Special Collections Library examines the spectrum of "secrets" of the female experience. Free.

Last Updated February 14, 2019