New Musicals for a New Generation celebrates ten years of commissioned musicals that have been created through the New Musicals Initiative at Penn State. Featuring seven Musical Theatre students and a four-piece live band, this musical revue of scenes and songs is directed by John Simpkins, music directed by Connor Crotzer Scartascini, and choreographed by Natalie Malotke, Madison Palmer and Johnny Fenton. Selections from each of the previous nine years of commissioned musicals will be featured on the program. Penn State Centre Stage hopes you will join us to celebrate some of the most exciting new voices and songs written for the American Musical Theatre!

Please join Centre Stage September 18-19 at 7:30pm and September 22 at 1pm and 6pm at the Downtown Theatre. All seats are $4.99 (cash only) at the door, but reservations are required.

Please email jsimpkinsassistant@gmail.com and indicate how many tickets and which day/time you would like to attend. You will receive a confirmation email and may then pick up your tickets beginning 30 minutes before curtain.

Centre Stage is excited to welcome special guests to perform an original song at curtain time just before the show gets underway at selected performances! Tony Nominee Joe Iconis (Be More Chill) is the author of the first ever musical commission, Love in Hate Nation, and will join Centre Stage on Thursday, September 19. Drama Desk nominees Joshua Salzman and Ryan Cunningham (I Love You Because) are the authors of last year’s commission, The Morris & Essex Line, and will join Centre Stage on Sunday, September 22 at the 1 pm performance.

The Penn State Musical Theatre New Musicals Initiative is the only one of its kind in the nation. You can read more about this exciting program and past musicals at https://arts.psu.edu/academics...

Other Upcoming Performances

Special Event - Sneak Preview
Friday, September 13, 2024
Playhouse Theatre

Your $49 admission includes hors d’oeuvres, libations, and performance. Meet the directors, designers, and students who will be producing the 2024-25 season; catch a glimpse of the upcoming productions; and purchase tickets to the shows!

John Proctor is the Villain
October 8–19
Pavilion Theatre
Previews: Oct. 8, 10
Opening Night: Oct. 11
Evenings: Oct. 12, 16, 17, 18, 19
Matinee: Oct. 19
Evenings: $23; Preview/Matinee $20; Student $15

At a rural high school in Georgia, a group of lively teens are studying The Crucible while navigating young love, sex ed, and a few school scandals. Holding a contemporary lens to the American classic, they begin to question who is really the hero and what is the truth, discovering their own power in the process. Alternately touching and bitingly funny, this new comedy captures a generation in mid-transformation, running on pop music, optimism, and fury, writing their own coming of age story.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
November 12–22
Playhouse Theatre
Previews: Nov. 12, 14
Opening Night: Nov. 15
Evenings: Nov. 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22
Evenings: $28; Preview $23; Student $15

A MUSICAL THRILLER! Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd—Stephen Sondheim’s twisted story of love, revenge, and infamous meat pies!

With a razor-sharp thirst for vengeance, Todd’s path converges with the cunning pie shop owner Mrs. Lovett. Together, they form a macabre partnership, crafting meat pies that satiate more than just hunger. But the relentless pursuit of justice takes a turn as Todd’s razor weaves a chilling narrative.

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
February 25–March 7
Playhouse Theatre
Previews: Feb. 25, 27
Opening Night: Feb. 28
Evenings: March 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Evenings: $28; Preview/Matinee $23; Student $15

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying centers on a young window-cleaner, J. Pierrepont Finch, who begins a meteoric rise from the mail room to Vice President of Advertising at the World-Wide Wicket Company. Finch's unorthodox and morally questionable business practices jeopardize not only his career but also his romance with Secretary Rosemary Pilkington.

Love's Labour's Lost: The Musical
April 1–12
Pavilion Theatre
Previews: April 1, 3
Opening Night: April 4
Evenings: April 5, 9, 10, 11, 12
Matinee: April 12
Evenings: $28; Preview/Matinee $23; Student $15

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 all of that nonsense! Smart, sexy, outrageous, and irreverent, Love's Labour's Lost is a madcap celebration of true love and coming of age.

Alice in Wonderland
April 15–26
Playhouse Theatre
Previews: April 15, 17
Opening Night: April 18
Evenings: April 19, 23, 24, 25 ,26
Matinee: April 26
Evenings: $23; Preview/Matinee $20; Student $15

A combination of the well-known stories of Lewis Carroll–Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-glass and What Alice Found There–this production looks at the indelible themes of change, growth, desire, status, societal rules, and loss of innocence, as we unravel the mystery of the human psyche through a highly physical and metaphoric trip down the rabbit hole. PG-13

Special School of Theatre Production: Much Ado About Nothing
November 16–22
Pavilion Theatre
Evenings at 7:30pm: November 16, 19, 20, 21, 22
Matinee at 2pm: November 17 General admission: $15

Count Claudio falls in love with Hero, the daughter of his host. Hero's cousin Beatrice (a confirmed spinster) and Benedict (an eternal bachelor) are each duped into believing the other is in love with them. Claudio is deceived by a malicious plot and denounces Hero as unchaste before they marry.

Special School of Theatre and Centre Stage Event: Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol
December 17–20
Schwab Auditorium
Evenings: Dec. 17, 18, 19
Matinees: Dec. 18, 20
School matinee at 10:30am: Dec. 19
Evenings: $28; Preview/Matinee $23; Student $15

Join for this classic holiday story! This will be a unique series of performances to benefit the School of Theatre and Centre Stage, performed by the professional artists on the School’s faculty, along with students and members of the community in a truly unique Town and Gown event for the holiday season.