California’s Monterey Jazz Festival is the longest consecutively running festival of its kind. In celebration of its six decades, the festival’s touring arm will bring to Penn State a diverse roster of millennial talent representing the future leaders of jazz.
The leading virtuosos on their respective instruments, Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain and Edgar Meyer move with ease among the spheres of classical, bluegrass, jazz and world music. They’ll come together at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 14 in Eisenhower Auditorium with special guest Indian flutist Rakesh Chaurasia to perform original compositions showcasing the beauty and versatility of the banjo, tabla and double bass. Five dollars from each ticket sold will be donated to Penn State THON.
The completely original new musical “Something Rotten!,” originally directed and choreographed on Broadway by Tony Award winner Casey Nicholaw, comes to Penn State for a performance at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 7 in Eisenhower Auditorium.
Montreal’s Cirque Éloize will welcome audience members into a timeless hotel, a meeting place for strangers from all walks of life, when it performs its new contemporary circus production, “Hotel,” at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 3 in Eisenhower Auditorium.
The Tony- and Grammy Award-winning Broadway hit “Beautiful—The Carole King Musical,” about the life of the groundbreaking singer-songwriter, will make its Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State premiere with seven performances Feb. 19–24, 2019, at Eisenhower Auditorium.
Events at Eisenhower Auditorium will increase in clarity, thanks to the procurement of a new speaker reinforcement system. Portions of the Center for the Performing Arts’ new sound system were installed recently to great fanfare from center staff, key funding players from the Penn State community, and engineers from DBS Audio Systems of Coatesville.
Dancing and singing puppets are expected to steal the show at a performance of “Mr. Popper’s Penguins” at 4 p.m. Feb. 11 in Eisenhower Auditorium.
Acclaimed jazz drummer and bandleader Tommy Igoe will take New York City’s Birdland All-Stars on the road for the first time in five years in a tour featuring new arrangements of works by iconic rock and jazz ensembles. The big band concert — featuring music by David Bowie, Steely Dan, The Police, Charlie Parker, Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea — is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Jan. 26 in Eisenhower Auditorium.
A summer tour wasn’t enough for Straight No Chaser. After releasing the “Six Pack: Volume 3” EP in July, the nine-member vocal ensemble embarked on its “Speakeasy Tour” with a cappella versions of rock and pop hits by Beyoncé, Eurythmics, Fitz and the Tantrums, and more. The singers will maintain the buzz when “The Speakeasy Tour” comes to Penn State for a 7:30 p.m. concert April 11 in Eisenhower Auditorium.
Actors from the nationally acclaimed American Shakespeare Center will offer a free performance of William Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew” at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 1 in Penn State’s Eisenhower Auditorium.
When Frog and Toad come out of hibernation, it’s a sign that spring is springing. The amphibious odd couple will bring their pondside adventures in the Tony Award-nominated musical “A Year with Frog and Toad” to Penn State with a production for all ages at 2 p.m. March 19 in Eisenhower Auditorium.
En Garde Arts returns to Penn State with the documentary-style theater production “Wilderness,” which reveals the communication breakdowns of six families due to addiction and mental health issues, at 7:30 p.m. March 15 in Eisenhower Auditorium.
An emotionally captivating score performed by a live orchestra sets the tone for “Once,” the award-winning screen-to-stage romance about not giving up on your dreams and celebrating the power of music. The touring Broadway production will make its Penn State debut at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 31 in Eisenhower Auditorium.
The new generation of Irish rock and dance began in September 2016 when “Rockin’ Road to Dublin” inaugurated its 65-plus-city tour in Henderson, North Carolina. The show will be performed at Penn State’s Eisenhower Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. March 23. Tickets go on sale at 9 a.m. Jan. 12.
The legendary Mister Rogers’ messages about living a neighborly life get a new look with a Center for the Performing Arts-presented production of “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood Live!” Daniel and his friends will sing and dance their way through an afternoon of “grr-ific” lessons at 2 p.m. Jan. 15, 2017, in Eisenhower Auditorium.
