Arts and Entertainment

Things to Do at Penn State: Feb. 27-March 5

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

"Angels in America, Millennium Approaches" by Penn State Centre Stage is being performed at the Playhouse Theatre on the University Park campus through March 5. Cameron Pillitteri plays the role of Prior Walter. 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:

Events

Cafe Laura Theme Dinner: From New York to Paris: Fly Back to When Fine Dining Took Off — Feb. 27, 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.

WWE Road to Wrestlemania7:30 p.m., Feb. 29, Bryce Jordan Center, University Park campus. Wrestling superstars from the WWE will face off at the Bryce Jordan Center. 

"Blind Date with a Book" — Through Feb. 29, various Penn State Libraries locations, University Park campus. Visitors to the Libraries can pick up wrapped books for reading dates. Free.

Harlem Globetrotters7 p.m., March 2, Bryce Jordan Center, University Park campus. The Harlem Globetrotters will bring their new "Pushing the Limits" show to Penn State.

Cafe Laura Theme Dinner: La Maison — Dine in Fashion March 3, 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.

"Moments of Change: A Century of Women's Activism"2-5 p.m., March 3, Paterno Library, University Park campus. The College of the Liberal Arts will host a launch event for its yearlong theme that will examine the impact of women's activism since the 19th Amendment's ratification in 1920 giving women the right to vote. Free.

Cafe Laura Theme Dinner: Viva Las Vegas — Dine Like a High Roller — March 4, 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: Hell's Kitchen: Turning Up the Heat  March 5, 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.

 

Performances

"Angels in America, Millennium Approaches" — Through March 5, Playhouse Theatre, University Park campus. Penn State Centre Stage presents the Tony Kushner production as it celebrates its 25th anniversary.

Apollo's Fire — 7:30 p.m., Feb. 27, Schwab Auditorium, University Park campus. Apollo's Fire, the Cleveland Baroque Orchestra, will perform Antonio Vivaldi's concertos. 

"Dances of My Land" 3 p.m., March 1, Flex Theatre, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. The Society for Indian Music and Arts and Nritya, both Penn State student organizations, will showcase classical dance forms of India.

 

Lectures

"Seeking vision: The journey of a legally blind physicist and filmmaker" — 3 p.m., Feb. 27, Memorial Lounge, Pasquerilla Spiritual Center, University Park campus. Aziza Baccouche, president and CEO of Aziza Productions, will talk about about her work producing science-based films. The lecture is part of Penn State's Black History Month celebration. Free.

Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor — 6 p.m., Feb. 27, Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library, University Park campus. Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, professor of African American studies at Princeton University and author of "Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermine Black Homeownership," will appear as part of the Africana Research Center's lectures examining the impacts of racism. Free.

"A Conversation with Michael Giarrusso" — 7 p.m., Feb. 27, 73 Willard Building, University Park campus. Michael Giarusso, the global sports editor of The Associated Press, will be the featured guest of the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism's Conversation Series. Free.

"Manufacturing Decline: How Racism and the Conservative Movement Crush the American Rust Belt"4 p.m., Feb. 28, 112 Walker Building, University Park campus. Jason Hackworth, professor of geography and planning at the University of Toronto, will explore the role of racism as an active cause of urban decline. Free.

"Sexual Citizens, A Landmark Study of Sex, Power and Assault on Campus"6:30 p.m., March 2, Freeman Auditorium, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. Columbia University professors Jennifer Hirsch and Shamus Khan will share their research into what college students want out of sexual encounters and how misunderstandings about sexual encounters may translate into sexual assault. Free.

Dana Choi10:30 a.m., March 3, 233A HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. Dana Choi, assistant professor of agricultural and biological engineering, will discuss how intelligent systems are shaping the future of agriculture. Free.

"Intersections: Landscapes of Labor"7 p.m., March 3, Flex Theater, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. Academy Award-winning filmmakers Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert will discuss their film "American Factory" via video conference. Free.

"Discovering Marginalized Populations in the Maps Collection" 3 p.m., March 4, W13 Pattee Library, University Park campus. The Donald W. Hamer Center for Maps and Geospatial; Information will highlight items by and for underrepresented groups, including African Americans, Native Americans and women. Free, but registration required.

 

Exhibits

"A Return to Order and Disorder" — Through Feb. 27, Borland Project Space, Borland Building, University Park campus. The exhibit by art education doctoral candidate Sue Uhlig makes visible the objects people find valuable and the collections they form. Free.

"Cosmologies" — Through March 3, Art Alley, HUB-Robeson Galleries, HUB-Robeson Center, University park campus. An exhibition of large-scale drawings inspired by systems, steamfitter’s drawings, flight routes and electrical networks. Free.

"On/Of Paper: Work by the Faculty of Architecture at Penn State" — Through March 6, Willard Rouse Gallery, Stuckeman Family Building, University Park campus. The exhibit highlights Penn State architecture faculty members' work and the importance of drawing and paperwork in their endeavors. Free.

"Still Here" — Through March 22, HUB Gallery, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. Curated by Larry Ossei-Mensah, Kiara Ventura and Dexter Wimberly, "Still Here" explores stories of migration, displacement and survival by eight artists that represent a spectrum of the African Diaspora. Free.

"Illuminating Illusions" — Through April 19, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. The exhibition showcases a selection of objects and illusion examples that illustrate relevance to current day culture, scientific discovery, or both. Free.

"Ideas! Ideas! Ideas!" — Through May 3, first floor wall case, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. An exhibit by Miami-based artist Jim Drain using dazzling camouflage patterns to simultaneously mask and amplify the exhibit space. Free.

"Women's Work" — Through May 8, Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum and Art Gallery, University Park campus. The museum presents Pennsylvania's early- to mid-20th-century industrial history recorded on canvas and paper by women artists. Free.

"African Brilliance: A Diplomat's Sixty Years of Collecting" — Through May 24, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. A presentation of a wide-ranging selection of African art from the collection of Ambassador Allen Davis featuring art from West, Central and East Africa. Free.

"Grounded: Environments in Flux" — Through May 31, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, the Palmer is showcasing a select group of works by contemporary artists to celebrate the poetry and power of nature, as well as the prosaic reality of environmental degradation resulting from modern interventions. Free.

"Drawing on a Legacy: Highlights from the John Driscoll American Drawings Collection" — Through June 7, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. The exhibition spotlights 30 watercolors and drawings from a diverse group of 19th-century American artists. Free.

Last Updated February 26, 2020