Arts and Entertainment

Things to Do at Penn State: Feb. 28-March 14

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

Urban Bush Women, a dance theatre company, will perform on March 14 at Eisenhower Auditorium on the University Park campus. The company will also be hosting various dance and song events in State College leading up to their performance. Credit: Hayim Heron. All Rights Reserved.

Editor's Note: Due to spring break, Things to Do at Penn State will not be published next week. This edition includes events happening at the University over the next two weeks.

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

Performances

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

Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra — 7:30 p.m., Feb. 28, Schwab Auditorium, University Park campus. Toronto's Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Trio Arabica will present "Tales of Two Cities: The Leipzig-Damascus Coffee House."

Urban Bush Women: "Hair & Other Stories" 7:30 p.m., March 14, Eisenhower Auditorium, University Park campus. This dance-theatre company weaves contemporary dance, music and text with the history, culture and spiritual traditions of African Americans and the African diaspora.

Events

"1950's: Delicacies of the decade" — Feb. 28Cafe 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.

Harlem Globetrotters Fan Powered World Tour 7 p.m., March 8, Bryce Jordan Center, University Park campus. Fans will have the opportunity to interact with members of the Globetrotters during the basketball event. 

Hair Party (Getting it Done!)6 p.m., March 11, Penn State Downtown Theatre, 146 S. Allen St., State College. Urban Bush Women artists will combine conversation, guided movement and performance highlights from "Hair & Other Stories," a dance theatre piece about how colors, length and varying degrees of curl affect definitions of "good hair" and "bad hair" within and outside of the African-American community. Free, but reservations required.

Community SingNoon, March 12, State College Municipal Building, 243 S. Allen St., State College. Urban Bush Women performers will draw on African-American traditions and vocalization styles to engage participants in song and discovery of community connecting points. Free, but reservations required.

"Rolling out the Red Carpet: Cuisine Inspired by Iconic Oscar Winners" — March 12, 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.

"Long Time Coming: A 1955 Baseball Story"6 p.m., March 12, Penn State All-Sports Museum, Beaver Stadium, University Park campus. The museum will screen this documentary focused on Florida's 1955 Little League State Championship between the all-black Pensacola Jaycees and the all-white Orlando Kiwanis, a game that moved beyond fears, threats and the unknown to break with tradition and show the world what was possible. Free.

Under the Tuscan Sun — March 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.

Friends: "The One with the Themed Dinner" — March 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.

Dance for Every Body 7 p.m., March 13, State College Municipal Building, 243 S. Allen St., State College. Members of the Urban Bush Women company will share their techniques with attention to breath, weight, call and response, and polyrhythm. Free, but reservations required.

Lectures

2019 Robert M. Pockrass Memorial Lecture: "Confronting the Misinformation Society" — 5:30 p.m., Feb. 28, Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library, University Park campus. Victor Pickard, associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania, will discuss how the proliferation of misinformation afflicting democratic societies stems from structural pathologies in communication systems. Free.

Joyce Ladner 6 p.m., March 11, Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library, University Park campus. Civil rights activist Joyce Ladner will discuss her experience in the movement in the 1950s and 1960s. Free.

Penn State Forum: Paul Perreault11:30 a.m., March 12, Nittany Lion Inn, University Park campus. Paul Perreault, chief executive officer and managing director of CSL Limited, will present "Innovation in Biotechnology: The Promise, The Potential, The Pitfall" as part of the 2018-19 Penn State Forum speaker series. Ticket required.

Exhibits

"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. 

"Impressionism at the Art of Medical Communication" March 11-21, Borland Project Space, Borland Lab, University Park campus. This exhibition presents the work of students from the course "Impressionism and the Art of Medical Communication," a course co-taught by faculty in the College of Medicine and the Department of Art History. 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 March 20, 2019