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
"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.
Travis Scott — 8 p.m., Feb. 26, Bryce Jordan Center, University Park campus. Rapper Travis Scott brings the second leg of his "ASTROWORLD — Wish You Were Here" tour to State College.
Czech National Symphony and Isabel Leonard — 7:30 p.m., Feb. 27, Eisenhower Auditorium, University Park campus. The event will celebrate the centennial of Leonard Bernstein's birth.
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."
Events
"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.
"Moana" — 4 p.m., Feb. 23, the Pullo Center, Penn State York. The classic Disney film returns to the big screen. Free, but tickets required.
"The Essence of the Isles" — 6 p.m., Feb. 23, Alumni Hall, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. The Penn State Caribbean Student Association will present its 42nd annual Caribbean Experience, featuring food, culture, music, performances and fashion.
"Cuffed in College: Swiping Right to the One's Who's Right" — 7:30 p.m., Feb. 26, 131 HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. The Penn State Student Programming Association will host a student discussion forum about dating and relationships in college. Free.
"Game On: An Evening of Appetizing Fun" — Feb. 26, 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.
"Netflix and Dine: Streaming Your Favorite Flavors" — 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.
"1950's: Delicasies of the decade" — Feb. 28, 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
"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.
"What Capitalism Does to Us, and For Us" — 11:10 a.m., Struthers Auditorium, Business Building, University Park campus. Jonathan Haidt, New York Times bestselling author and the Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership at New York University, visits campus as part of the McCourtney Institute for Democracy's spring 2019 speaker series. Free.
"Laughtivism: The Power of Humor in Nonviolent Struggle" — 4:30 p.m., Feb. 26, Lewis Katz Building auditorium, University Park campus. Srdja Popovic, activist, global thinker and founder and executive director of the Center for Applied Nonviolent Actions and Strategies, will talk about the power of humor in social events. Free.
Rolling Reading Series: Kimiko Hahn — 7:30 p.m., Feb. 27, Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library, University Park campus. Award-winning poet Kimiko Hahn, this year's Fisher Family Writer-in-Residence, will read from her work. Free.
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.
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.