Allsun O'Malley, left, and Talia Suskauer rehearse a scene for the Penn State Centre Stage production of 'The Light in the Piazza' at the Penn State Downtown Theatre Center. The musical production opens April 4 and runs through April 15.
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 coming week:
Performances
"Barbecue" — Various times, March 24-April 1, Pavilion Theatre. Penn State Centre Stage presents Robert O'Hara's satiric play.
Violinist masterclass — 2:30 p.m., March 31, 122 Music Building II. The American Symphony Orchestra's principal violinist, Nardo Poy, will present a chamber music masterclass followed by a masterclass for violinists. Free.
18th annual Penn State Jazz Festival — Various times, March 31-April 1, various locations. The Penn State Jazz Festival will include workshops and masterclasses with guest artists, appearances by high school jazz bands and two gala concerts.
"The Light in the Piazza" — Various times, April 4-15, Penn State Downtown Theatre Center, State College. Penn State Centre Stage presents Adam Guettel's hit musical.
DakhaBrakha — 7:30 p.m., April 4, Schwab Auditorium. The folk-punk-world music quartet from Kiev, Ukraine, will present its self-described style of "ethno-chaos" performance.
"Godspell" — 8 p.m., April 5-8, Perkins Student Center Auditorium, Penn State Berks. The Penn State Berks theatre department presents this Bible-based musical.
"God Has No Country" — 7:30 p.m., April 5, Pavilion Theatre. Dublin-based actor and playwright donal Courtney will present a one-person show about the struggles encountered by Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty, an Irish priest, while in Rome during World War II, following his torment as he and colleagues protect and defend those suffering under the tyranny of the Fascists.
"Hamlet" — Various times, April 5-8, Maggie Hardy Magerko Auditorium, Penn State Fayette. The Lion Players of Penn State Fayette will bring William Shakespeare's "The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark" to the stage. Free.
"Steel Valley Rhythms" — 5:30 p.m., April 6, 16 Borland Building. "Steel Valley Rhythms" is an ongoing project that uses sound and movement to explore Western Pennsylvania's deep connections to the iron and steel industries. Free.
"Rent" — 7:30 p.m., April 6, Eisenhower Auditorium. The award-winning rock musical returns to Penn State as part of its 20th anniversary tour.
"Avenue Q" — 7:30 p.m., April 6-8, Student Enrichment Center, Penn State Harrisburg. The Penn State Harrisburg School of Humanities theatre program presents the popular musical comedy.
Events
Central Pennsylvania Home and Garden Show — March 31-April 2, Bryce Jordan Center. Central Pennsylvania's largest home and garden show returns.
Minerals Junior Education Day — 9:30 a.m., April 1, Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology, Pleasant Gap. Co-sponsored by the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences and the Mineral Sciences Museum and Art Gallery, the event is design to encourage the interest of students in grades one through eight in the earth sciences. Free.
13th annual New Faces of an Ancient People Traditional American Indian Powwow — Various times, April 1-2, Mount Nittany Middle School, Boalsburg. Penn State's signature diversity event features American Indian dancers and drum groups from communities and reservations across North America. Free.
Your Golden Ticket: Willy Wonka's Whimsical Fantasy — April 4, Cafe Laura, Mateer Building. 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.
2017 Undergraduate Exhibition — 9:15 a.m.-2 p.m., April 5, HUB-Robeson Center. Penn State students display the results of their research. Free.
"The Art of Poetry" reading — 12:10 p.m., April 5, Palmer Museum of Art. Ed Ochester, editor of the Pitt Poetry Series and a faculty member at Bennington College, will read. Free.
Star Wars: May the Fork Be With You — April 5, Cafe Laura, Mateer Building. 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.
Docunight screening: "Sonita" — 7 p.m., April 5, 102 Chemistry Building, University Park campus, and Penn State Mont Alto Campus Library. The Sundance Grand Jury-winning film chronicles an Iranian female teen's dream of becoming a rapper, instead of being a bride to be sold. Free.
Home: From Our Family to Yours — April 6, Cafe Laura, Mateer Building. 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
"Geeks, Dragon Ladies and Perpetual Foreigners: Countering Stereotypes of Asian-Americans in the Media and Beyond" — 6 p.m., March 31, Carnegie Cinema, Carnegie Building. Srivi Ramasubramanian, associate dean for climate and inclusion of liberal arts at Texas A&M University, will discuss how to counter stereotypes of Asian-Americans in the media. Free.
"Dialogue in Trump's America" — Noon, April 3, Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library. David Holloway, director of Northern Ireland-based Community Dialogue, and Laurie Mulvey, executive director of Penn State's World in Conversation Center for Public Diplomacy, will discuss tools for facilitating dialogue. Free.
"Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office: Unconscious Mistakes Women Make that Sabotage Their Careers" — Noon, April 4, Conference rooms B and C, Hintz Family Alumni Center. Carrie Marcinkevage, managing director for the MBA and Management and Organizational Leadership programs in Smeal College of Business and chair of the Women of Smeal professional development initiative, will lead a discussion of Lois Frankel's "Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office: Unconscious Mistakes Women Make that Sabotage Their Careers." Free.
Songbird migration research — 5 p.m., April 5, 112 Forest Resources Building. Author and avian researcher Bridget Stutchbury will discuss the results of her studies tracking the migration of purple martins, wood thrush and other species, and how this knowledge can help to save songbirds.
"Our Environment, Our Health: An NIEHS Perspective" — 1 p.m., April 6, 233 HUB-Robeson Center. Linda Birnbaum, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Toxicology Program, will present the Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment's Spring Health and the Environment Lecture. Free.
Exhibits
"A Kaleidoscope of Color: Studio Glass at the Palmer" — Jan. 31-April 30, Palmer Museum of Art. An exhibit highlighting newly acquired works of studio glass from the collections of various Penn State alumni and donors. Free.
"Research Wrapped in Aesthetics: The Air Wall" — Jan. 16-May 5, Stuckeman Family Building Architecture and Landscape Architecture Library. This exhibit shows how research at Penn State in the 1950s influenced a passive solar design technique widely used today. The exhibit will include images and documents from Penn State’s libraries and archives, as well as a newly built model, all showing how Penn State faculty were among the first to explore solar design techniques intended to make the new glass buildings more comfortable and efficient. Free.
"Hubert Davis: Scenes of Pennsylvania" — April 3-June 9, Ronald K. De Long Gallery, Penn State Lehigh Valley. Hubert Davis was an American lithographic artist of the Depression. His earliest works date back to 1925 and were primarily paintings of landscapes and figures. Free.
"Plastics: Knowledge and Information Taking Shape" — March 21-Aug. 9, Pattee Library. This exhibit explores the various manifestations of plastic, from plastic surgery to the plastic arts, and also features artifacts, photographs and explanatory documentation about the Great Book Move, a book sculpture, and a display dedicated to the Maker Commons, the library’s 3-D printing facilities. Free.
