UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State students can already purchase discounted tickets to Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State presentations thanks to a grant from the University Park Student Fee Board. But for one day — from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 5 — University Park students will receive an additional 15-percent discount on tickets to five national touring Broadway musicals coming to Eisenhower Auditorium in November through April.
During the Sept. 5 sale at Eisenhower, prices for University Park students will be $42.50 (section one) and $34.85 (section two) each for “Something Rotten!,” Nov. 7; “Finding Neverland,” Jan. 23; “Beautiful–The Carole King Musical,” Feb. 19-21 and 23-24 (matinees only); “The King and I,” March 28; and “Kinky Boots,” April 9–10.
University Park students save everyday on 21 other performances the Center for the Performing Arts is presenting September through April. Tickets for most of those other music, theater and dance presentations are just $15 each for University Park students.
A New York Post reviewer called “Something Rotten!” “Broadway’s big, fat hit!” Set in 1595, the musical comedy tells the story of Nick and Nigel Bottom, brothers desperate to write a hit play. When a soothsayer foretells the future of theater involves singing, dancing and acting at the same time, Nick and Nigel set out to write the world’s first musical. With its heart on its ruffled sleeve and sequins in its soul, New York magazine said that “Something Rotten!” is “‘The Producers’ + ‘Spamalot’ + ‘The Book of Mormon.’ Squared!”
The winner of Broadway.com’s Audience Choice Award for best musical, “Finding Neverland” “captures the kid-at-heart,” wrote a Time magazine critic. Directed by Tony-winner Diane Paulus and based on the critically acclaimed Academy Award-winning film, “Finding Neverland” tells the story behind one of the world’s most beloved characters: Peter Pan. Playwright J. M. Barrie struggles to find inspiration until he meets four young brothers and their beautiful widowed mother. Spellbound by the boys’ make-believe adventures, he sets out to write a play that will astound London theatergoers.
“Beautiful” tells the inspiring true story of King’s remarkable rise to stardom, from being part of a hit songwriting team with her husband Gerry Goffin, to her relationship with fellow writers and best friends Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, to becoming one of the most successful solo acts in popular music history. Along the way, she made more than beautiful music, she wrote the soundtrack to a generation. The show features beloved songs written by Goffin/King and Mann/Weil, including “I Feel the Earth Move,” “One Fine Day,” “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” “You’ve Got a Friend,” “On Broadway” and “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling.”
Two worlds collide in the “breathtaking and exquisite” (said the New York Times) revival of “The King and I,” based on the 2015 Tony Award-winning Lincoln Center Theater production. One of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s finest works, “The King and I” boasts classics such as “Getting to Know You,” “I Whistle a Happy Tune,” “Hello Young Lovers,” “Shall We Dance” and “Something Wonderful.” Set in 1860s Bangkok, the musical relates the story of the relationship between the King of Siam and Anna Leonowens, a British schoolteacher whom the modernist King, in an imperialistic world, brings to Siam to teach his many wives and children.
“Kinky Boots” is Broadway’s huge-hearted, high-heeled hit. With songs by Grammy- and Tony-winning pop icon Cyndi Lauper, the musical is about the friendships we discover and the belief that you can change the world when you change your mind. Inspired by true events, “Kinky Boots” takes audiences from a gentlemen’s shoe factory in Northampton, England, to the glamorous catwalks of Milan, Italy. Charlie Price is struggling to live up to his father’s expectations and continue the family business. Help arrives in the unlikely form of Lola, a fabulous performer in need of some sturdy stilettos. “Kinky Boots” earned six Tony Awards, including best musical, best score and best choreography.
A valid Penn State identification card is required to purchase tickets at the University Park student price. Each eligible student may buy one discounted ticket per event per ID. Friends who want to sit together should purchase tickets at the same time.
Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union sponsors the event. The Richard Robert Brown Program Endowment provides support.
Learn more about the touring Broadway shows and the other Center for the Performing Arts presentations.
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