What's happening at Penn State? Here's a look at some of the cultural events — both in-person and virtual — taking place across the University:
Performances
"Liederabend" — 7 p.m., March 27, Titelman Study, Misciagna Center for Performing Arts, Altoona campus. Bonnie Cutsforth-Huber and Anthony Cornet, along with Penn State Altoona voice students, will perform 19th-century German Lieder, poems that have been set to music by German composers. There will also be German and Austrian-inspired foods prepared by Penn State Altoona Chef Jami Steffen.
“Dear Evan Hansen" – 7:30 p.m., March 27, Eisenhower Auditorium, University Park campus. Declared “one of the most remarkable shows in musical theatre history” by The Washington Post, “Dear Evan Hansen” takes a groundbreaking look — from the point of view of both the parents and young people — at our complex, interconnected and social media-filled lives.
Christopher Guzman — 7:30-9 p.m., March 27, Recital Hall, School of Music, University Park campus. Christopher Guzman returns to Penn State for a piano recital featuring a variety of works highlighting Romantic art.
Cirque du Soleil: “OVO” – Multiple performances, March 27-30, Bryce Jordan Center, University Park campus. Cirque du Soleil returns to State College for the first time in more than 10 years to offes a colorful intrusion into a day in the life of insects. Through show-stopping acrobatics highlighting the unique personalities and abilities of selected insect species, “OVO” explores the beauty of biodiversity in all its contrasts and vibrancy.
“Always Olivia: An Olivia Newton-John Tribute” — 7:30 p.m., March 29, Pullo Center, York campus. “Always Olivia” is a tribute to one of the most celebrated and beloved pop culture icons of all time, the late Olivia Newton-John. With an all-star band of musicians, the show incorporates five decades of Olivia’s music, dialogue about Newton-John’s history, humor, audience participation, costume changes and video projection with stimulating visuals.
Early Music Ensemble — 7:30 p.m., March 31, Recital Hall, University Park campus. This dynamic program, curated by Professor James Lyon, features works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven and the remarkable violin virtuoso George Bridgetower, a contemporary of Beethoven’s.
“The Addams Family” – 7 p.m., April 1-2, Eisenhower Auditorium, University Park campus. Everything will change for the Addams family on the fateful night they host a dinner for Wednesday’s “normal” boyfriend and his parents. A comical feast that embraces the wackiness in every family, “The Addams Family” is a delightful musical comedy based on the bizarre and beloved characters by legendary cartoonist Charles Addams.
"Love's Labour's Lost: The Musical" – April 1-12, Pavilion Theatre, University Park campus. This musical adaptation of Shakespeare's comedy — filled with romance, revelry, and enchanting music — brings together the language of the bard with a fresh contemporary pop-rock score. The King and his best buds decide at their five-year college reunion to swear off the joys of women. But when four cute, clever girls from their past show up, they’re forced to reconsider that nonsense! Adapted by Michael Friedman and Alex Timbers, directed and choreographed by Christine O'Grady, music directed by Ben Kiley.
Cinzia Milani in concert — 7:30 p.m., April 2, School of Music Recital Hall, University Park campus. The Penn State School of Music will present internationally acclaimed classical guitarist Cinzia Milani in concert. Described as “a rare combination of beauty, grace, natural elegance,” Milani is recognized for her deep sense of music, brilliant technique, and powerful sound and expression. She is considered among the finest classical guitarists in the world. Free.
Campus PRIDE: Drag Performance by Opulence – 6-7:30 p.m., April 3, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. Celebrate Campus Pride Month at the museum with a drag performance by Opulence: Drag Ambassadors at Penn State.
GloRilla – 8 p.m., April 3, Bryce Jordan Center, University Park campus. GloRilla, born Gloria Hallelujah Woods, is an American rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. Recently referred to as “Memphis’ Reigning Hip-Hop Queen,” she’ll bring award-winning hip hop to her performance to Penn State.
President’s Concert in Philadelphia – 7:30 p.m., April 3, Stotesbury Mansion, Philadelphia. Join the Penn State School of Music, the Penn State Alumni Association and President Neeli Bendapudi on for “Baroque, Brass, and Song,” an unforgettable evening of music that spans centuries and styles.
Events
National Women’s History Month — Multiple dates and locations. Penn State student organizations and units at campuses across the commonwealth will offer events in honor of National Women’s History Month in March 2025.
"A Pre-Powwow Celebration: Flavors and Stories of Indigenous Culture" — 4 p.m., March 27, Bellisario Media Center, Willard Building, University Park campus. A special, hour-long preview of the Penn State Powwow will feature a Native American storyteller and pawpaw-flavored ice cream from the Berkey Creamery. Free.
Art After Hours: Get in the Paint! – 5-8 p.m., March 27, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. Celebrate March Madness at the museum! Catch the Sweet 16 games while creating art inspired by the geometry of the court. Discover how art and basketball collide in the work of Barkley Hendricks and Jeff Koons with fast-break gallery conversations and vote on which collection artwork will reign supreme in the Museum Madness collection tournament.
Café Laura Theme Dinner: An Evening in Oz: A Wicked Meal Awaits — March 27, Café 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 Café Laura restaurant. Reservations required.
2025 Graduate Exhibition — March 28, University Park campus. Degree-seeking students from all Penn State colleges and campuses will share their research and scholarly achievements with a wide-ranging audience.
Three Minute Thesis competition – 3 p.m., March 29, Nittany Lion Inn, University Park campus, and via livestream. Hosted by the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School, 10 Penn State graduate students representing eight graduate programs will compete for cash prizes while giving three-minute presentations on their research in the event’s final round. The competition is free and open to the public, but advance registration is required for both in-person and virtual attendance.
Happy Valley Animation Festival Official Selection Screening – 11 a.m.-5 p.m., March 29, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. Enjoy screenings of a selection of animated works submitted to the 2025 Happy Valley Animation Festival, an international competition that showcases compelling animated works by student, early career, and practicing professional artists, designers, and filmmakers who push the boundaries of the medium.
Penn State Traditional American Indian Powwow — March 29-30, C3 Sports Complex, 200 Ellis Place, State College. The 19th annual Penn State Traditional American Indian Powwow, a family friendly event that offers free admission, has earned a national reputation as an excellent example of honoring family values and maintaining Native American traditions.
North American Saxophone Alliance (NASA) Regional Conference — March 29-30, Multiple events and locations, University Park campus. Hosted by the Penn State School of Music and the Penn State Saxophone Studio, this dynamic two-day event will bring together more than 150 saxophonists from at least 15 states for an exciting celebration of the instrument. With 60 concerts, lectures and masterclasses packed into the weekend, the conference will highlight the talents of students, faculty and guest artists while showcasing Penn State’s state-of-the-art facilities, award-winning Recital Hall, and vibrant musical community. All events are free and open to the public.
Café Laura Theme Dinner: Groovy Bites — A Festival Street Feast — April 1, Café 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 Café Laura restaurant. Reservations required.
Yoga + Mindfulness at the Palmer — 12-1 p.m., April 2, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. Join Latisha Franklin for a free yoga class at the Palmer. All bodies are welcome, no experience is necessary.
SustainPSU "Intersections" film screenings — 8 p.m., April 2, Online. As part of its "Intersections" film program, Penn State Sustainability (SustainPSU) is hosting a final spring online screening of two short films that feature people working to create more resilient biological communities while cultivating their own personal resilience. Free. Pre-registration required.
Café Laura Theme Dinner: Le Petit Bistro: Served with French Charm — April 3, Café 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 Café Laura restaurant. Reservations required.
Bike Den Women and Queer Night — 6:15-8:15 p.m., April 3, the Bike Den, University Park campus. Open to Penn State students, faculty and staff as well as local community members, attendees can work on their bikes, enjoy free pizza, talk to Bike Den staff and volunteers and learn more about biking at Penn State and the surrounding area.
Lectures
Military Women’s Panel —12:15 to 2 p.m., March 27, Fireside Lounge, Slep Student Center, Altoona campus. Chief Warrant Officer (CW2) Amanda Strandburg and Army veteran Elizabeth Cooper will speak about their time in the military and the unique challenges they face as women in the armed forces. A Q&A session will immediately follow.
Artist Talk: Linda Stein – 4 p.m., March 27, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. Linda Stein is a feminist artist, activist, educator, and writer. For six decades, her work has addressed issues of persecution and protection, focusing on oppression of the “other” through the lens of anti-bullying and social justice. Several works by Stein are featured in the Palmer’s current teaching gallery exhibition, “Profiles of Vulnerability and Protection.”
In-person exhibits
Beyond the Press (Printmaking Exhibition) — Through March 29, Patterson and Humpday galleries, University Park campus. Students enrolled in printmaking classes will showcase their artwork in a two-week exhibition, providing opportunities for students to increase their visibility and share their creative work with a broader audience.
"Reclamation: From Coal Dust to Hope" — Through March 29, the Art Space, Schuylkill campus. Artist Robert McCormick's exhibition, "Reclamation: From Coal Dust to Hope," showcases paintings that reflect the landscapes, culture and history of the Anthracite Region, capturing the evolution of the communities shaped by coal mining. From memories of his childhood in Big Mine Run — a historic Schuylkill County "Patchtown" — to the rural farmlands he now calls home, McCormick’s Modern Primitive paintings bring together acrylic, oil, watercolor, found materials and collage to depict both real and imagined landscapes.
"How Else Can I Tell You" — Through April 3, Sheetz Gallery, Misciagna Family Center for the Performing Arts, Altoona campus. Through layers of uncanny visual metaphors, sensory symbols and fragments of known things, Sophie Brenneman, assistant teaching professor of visual art studies at Penn State Altoona, creates a body of work that stems from the ache associated with the inability to articulate an idea beyond language; an attempt to try and show the feeling of time, trauma, nostalgia and other abstract ideas.
"Every Day Prey" — Through April 3, McLanahan Gallery, Misciagna Family Center for the Performing Arts, Altoona campus. As an Appalachian artist, Taylor Pate draws inspiration from the landscapes and cultural traditions of her homeland, weaving together the natural world and the narratives of human experience. Viewing nature as both subject and collaborator, she explores cycles of transformation — shedding, renewal and growth — mirroring the painful yet wondrous evolution of womanhood and girlhood.
"Defining the New Negro: Voices of the Harlem Renaissance a Century Later” — Through April 7, Pattee Library, University Park campus. Drawing upon the distinctive collections of Penn State University Libraries, the exhibition invites visitors to explore the works of featured Black authors and artists and their efforts to redefine Black identity, life and culture.
"The Global Majority" — Through April 13, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. The exhibition brings together a selection of photographs and contemporary works on paper to explore representation and the role it plays in fostering a sense of belonging, especially among communities that have been historically disempowered and excluded from museums, asking visitors to think about what it means to feel seen, to be pictured, or to have power over your own image.
"This too, shall pass" — Through April 17, The Gallery, Penn College. Large graphite drawings that intertwine the influences of traditional Japanese calligraphy with the techniques and aesthetics of Western drawing are on display in Mayuko Ono Gray’s exhibition. The showing of “This too, shall pass” is its Pennsylvania debut. The exhibition has been displayed in nine other states and Canada.
"Profiles of Vulnerability and Protection" — Through April 20, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. The exhibition considers how perceived vulnerabilities — shaped by gender, racial, economic and other inequities — can become strengths that spark action and collective movement to change the course of injustice toward safe, peaceful and joyous living.
"A Fly on the Wall, A Story Untold: Objects Imbued with the Human Soul" — Through April 26, Ronald K. De Long Gallery, Lehigh Valley campus. The soulful, down-home spirit of American folk art will be on display, featuring pieces from the private collection of Vincent DiCicco, a passionate collector of Americana and American Folk Art. The items featured portray the likeness of people in paintings, photographs and objects that were used in human interaction.
"The Triumph of Nature: Art Nouveau from the Chrysler Museum of Art" — Through May 11, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. Drawn from the rich holdings of the Chrysler Museum of Art’s Walter P. and Jean Chrysler collection, this exhibit showcases more than 120 glittering Art Nouveau objects — including furniture, paintings, sculpture, mosaics, posters, Japanese prints, lamps, jewelry and glass — that introduce the exuberant, radical, international Art Nouveau style and its celebration of beauty, nature and innovation.
"Capacities of Care" — Through June 1, HUB Gallery and Art Alley, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. “Capacities of Care,” a group exhibition curated by Aaron Knochel, associate professor of art education in Penn State’s School of Visual Arts, is a concept framework to understand and explore how care relationships manifest in our lives in distinct and interconnected ways.
"nosegay" — Through June 1, Exhibition cases, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. “nosegay,” curated by Philadelphia-based artist Caitlin McCormack, features sculpture work that explores the complexities of crochet to straddle the line between fine art and craft, and its cultural ubiquity. The heavily embellished sculptures assume the form of domestic and sartorial objects laden with text, as well as silent, observational beings.
“Biomachine” — Through Spring 2025, Hite Lobby, Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts, Altoona campus. A collaboration between Daryl Branford and Talley Fisher of Huck SciArts offers a glimpse into the microscopic world of viruses and is a reaction to how humanity must learn to coexist with them.
"I Am a Penn Stater: Nittany Lions in World War II" — Through June 2025, Penn State All-Sports Museum, Beaver Stadium, University Park campus. Timed to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the conflict, "I Am a Penn Stater" chronicles the contributions of Nittany Lion varsity lettermen and Women’s Recreation Association athletes during the conflict and follows their service from training in the United States, to fighting on battlefields around the globe, to their postwar occupations. Free.
“Give us also the right to our existence: Collecting and Surfacing Queer Narratives” — Through Sept. 12, Eberly Family Special Collections Library, University Park campus. Gathering together a selection of materials that illustrate the varied formats and expansive time periods of queer history, “Give us also the right to our existence: Collecting and Surfacing Queer Narratives” explores the many facets of gender and sexuality. The exhibition — inspired by the Penn State motto “We Are” — provides context for how we collect, describe and represent our shared humanity in the library. Free.
Virtual exhibits
In addition to in-person events, a number of virtual exhibits are available through University departments. The Palmer Museum of Art and University Libraries offer a rotating selection of historical and artistic collections to view online.