Plays, bands & performances: Penn State’s CPA announces new acts. What to know

With the fall semester just a few weeks away, Penn State’s Center for the Performing Arts recently released its 2023-2024 performance schedule — and the greater community might be interested in a number of acts and performances this go-round.

The new slate kicks off Sept. 7 with kid-favorite Bluey, the Blue Heeler puppy cartoon character, in “Bluey’s Big Play” stage show and wraps up April 24, 2024, with a free concert from Psychedelic Korean Folk band Coreyah. (In case it’s not obvious, there’s quite a bit of variety here.)

Tickets for the general public go on sale at 10 a.m. Aug. 3 and can be purchased online, by calling 814-863-0255 or in-person at Eisenhower Auditorium during normal working hours (10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays). Depending on the event, ticket costs range from free to up to $75.

For those who have previously attended performances at Eisenhower Auditorium, parking has changed and can now be prepaid via Park Mobile for $5.50 per car or for $10 the day of the event. All performances are at Eisenhower unless otherwise noted.

For more information, go to cpa.psu.edu/2324season.

Fall 2023

Sept. 7: “Bluey’s Big Play” — 6:30 p.m. — This is a theatrical adaptation of the Emmy Award-winning children’s television series starring an Australian Blue Heeler. It boasts an original story by “Bluey” creator Joe Brumm and new music by “Bluey” composer Joff Bush. Tickets range from $35-$48, along with $15 for University Park students. A VIP Meet-and-Greet Package is also available for $75 and includes a photo opportunity with a costume character.

Sept. 12: Move Mix Festival featuring Red Baraat — 5 p.m. — Bring your lawn chairs to the Eisenhower Auditorium loading dock for this free, block party-style event featuring traditional Indian dance, contemporary Latin dance, modern bhangra music, and more. Red Baraat, an ensemble of musicians with South Asian roots, is headlining the festival and has performed at famous music festivals like Bonnaroo. Also performing are Ady Martinez, Caliente Dance Company and Sher Bhangra.

Sept. 19: Emmet Cohen Trio (featuring vocalist Lucy Yeghiazaryan) — 7:30 p.m. — Cohen was named the world’s third-best living jazz pianist in a December readers’ poll in music magazine DownBeat, and this will be the trio’s third visit to the CPA. Joining the trio will be New York City-based jazz vocalist Lucy Yeghiazaryan, known for her full-bodied voice and 2022 album “Lonely House.” Cost is $34 for adults, $20 for those 18 and younger, and $5 for University Park students.

Sept. 30: “A Thousand Ways: An Assembly” by 600 Highwaymen — 1:30 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. — The creators describe their award-winning “live art” as “the intersection of theater, dance, contemporary performance and civic encounter.” The unique performance is created by a shared script and 16 audience members, who are brought together in a “moving live experience, with no audience present.” Tickets are limited to two per order, and the event is recommended for participants 16 and older. Cost is $20 but $5 for University Park students. (Additional performances will also take place Oct. 1 and 20; and Nov. 8-10.)

Oct. 10: Las Cafeteras — 7:30 p.m. — This six-person band from East Los Angeles is described as a group of contemporary Chicano troubadours who mix roots music with Afro-Mexican rhythms and powerful rhymes for what one national publication called a “uniquely Angeleno mishmash of punk, hip-hop, beat music, cumbia and rock.” They are known for protest songs — with songs dedicated to subjects like undocumented migrants — and sing in both English and Spanish. A pre-performance discussion will take place at 6:30 p.m. and is also free for ticket holders. Tickets are $38 for adults, $24 for those 18 and younger, and $5 for University Park students.

Oct. 18-19: Bijayini Satpathy (“ABHIPSAA — A Seeking”) — 7:30 p.m. — Satpathy is an Odissi classical Indian dance master, and her performance is comprised of four original dances. They aim to tell a story of discovery in “physical, emotional and spiritual realms” in collaboration with musicians, composers, lighting and theatrical designers.” A post-performance discussion will be held after the Oct. 18 event. Cost is $32 for adults, $18 for those 18 and younger, and $5 for University Park students.

Oct. 25: “Rachmaninov Celebration” with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center — 7:30 p.m. — The chamber music society will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of virtuoso pianist and composer Sergei Rachmaninov by playing some of his most dramatic compositions, in addition to other works written by his mentors and influencers. The society is comprised of a soprano, pianist, violinist and cellist. Cost is $34-$48 for adults, $18-$26 for those 18 and younger, and $5 for University Park students, and it will take place at Recital Hall, which is attached to the first floor of Music Building I. (A mini-concert will also take place 7:30 p.m. Oct. 24 at the Hintz Family Alumni Center’s Robb Hall. That is free for students, with a $10 suggested donation for non-students.)

Nov. 15: “Stomp” — 7:30 p.m. — The “international percussion sensation” is a stage show that defines itself as dance, music and theatrical performance blended into one. Don’t be surprised to see a mix of matchboxes, brooms, garbage cans and more combined to produce energizing beats and rhythms. Tickets are $54-$69 for adults, $37-$52 for those 18 and younger, and $30-$35 for University Park students.

Dec. 3: “Mosaic,” Penn State School of Music’s student showcase — 4 p.m. — This annual concert features the School of Music’s best ensembles and soloists. It’s known for being a fast-paced and varied concert experience, one that routinely sells out each year and features applause only at the intermission and conclusion. (Auditions are held in October.) Cost is $33 for adults and $10 for students.

Spring 2024

Jan. 20: A Choral Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — 4 p.m. — Modeled after a program first presented in 1990 by the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., performances here from Penn State and Centre County schools will focus on choral and vocal music from African and African American “musical idioms” that emphasize the legacy of MLK. Cost is $20 for adults, $10 for those 18 and younger, and $5 for University Park students.

Feb. 7: “Underscored” with Ephrat Asherie Dance — 7:30 p.m. — This multi-generational dance collaboration features performers ranging in age from 28 to 80 and celebrates their connections to the New York City club dance scene from the 1970s through today. Ephrat Asherie Dance, a dance company, is working with several club legends to show “how African and African diaspora-inspired styles of freestyle dance are part of a larger conversation.” Cost is $35 for adults, $21 for those 18 and younger, and $5 for University Park students.

Feb. 20: “Johnny Cash — The Official Concert Experience” — 7:30 p.m. — This multimedia performance features a live band performing Cash’s hits while featuring videos from “The Johnny Cash Show” projected on a screen above the stage. The show also features never-before-seen concert footage and on-screen narration by Cash’s son, and it is done in collaboration with the Estate of Johnny Cash. Cost is $48-$63 for adults, $31-$46 for those 18 and younger, and $15 for University Park students.

Feb. 28: Time for Three — 7:30 p.m. — A classically trained string trio of two violins and a double bass, this Grammy Award-winning ensemble plays various eras, styles and traditions of Western Music in casual dress. As a result, Time for Three often refers to itself as a “classically trained garage band.” The trio has previously collaborated with artists such as Ben Folds, Branford Marsalis and Joshua Bell. Cost is $44 for adults, $22 for those 18 and younger, and $5 for University Park students.

March 19: Rhiannon Giddens — 7:30 p.m. — Giddens is an eclectic folk music artist and two-time Grammy-Award winning singer who founded the band Carolina Chocolate Drops, where she was the lead singer, fiddle player and banjo player. NPR even named her one of its “25 Most Influential Women Musicians of the 21st Century.” Her first all-originals collection, “You’re the One,” will be released in August. Cost is $59 for adults, $47 for those 18 and younger, and $5 for University Park students.

March 21: Dover Quartet with pianist Haochen Zhang — 7:30 p.m. — The Dover Quartet was named by BBC Music Magazine as one of the greatest string quartets of the last 100 years, and they will play with a Shanghai-based pianist Haochen Zhang, who won — as a teenager — the prestigious 2009 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Gold Medal. They will play selections from Beethoven, Neikrug and Schubert. Cost is $34-$48 for adults, $18-$26 for those 18 and younger, and $5 for University Park students. It will also take place in Recital Hall, which is attached to the first floor of Music Building I. (A mini-concert with Dover Quartet will also take place 8 p.m. March 20 at the Hintz Family Alumni Center’s Robb Hall. Donations are suggested for adults, but free for students.)

April 10: “Absence” by Terence Blanchard (featuring The E-Collective and Turtle Island) — 7:30 p.m. — Blanchard is a jazz musician and seven-time Grammy Award-winning trumpeter and composer whose performance will serve as a living tribute to internationally renowned saxophonist/composer Wayne Shorter, who died in 2021. Blanchard will be joined by The E-Collective, which consists of a guitar, piano/synthesizers, drums and bass; and Turtle Island, a genre-hybrid string ensemble comprised of a cello, two violins and a viola. Cost is $48 for adults, $26 for those 18 and younger, and $5 for University Park students.

April 24: Coreyah: Psychedelic Korean Folk — 8 p.m. — This Seoul-based sextet combines traditional Korean melodies and lyrics with global music elements like Anglo-American rock, funk and more to create a unique fusion of music. Coreyah, which translates to “good luck whale,” performed on an NPR Tiny Desk Concert in 2020. A moderated pre-performance discussion will take place at 7 p.m. and is free for ticket holders. Tickets for the concert are also free, and it will be held inside the HUB-Robeson Center’s Alumni Hall.