Visa fee hikes and delays hinder international artists from touring the United States

March 20, 2025

NEW YORK (AP) — In New York City, spirited badge-holders and independent music fans wove in and out of 150-person capacity clubs filled with groups from around the globe. A Japanese rock band opened for a German post-punk trio followed by an alternative group from New Zealand. And that was just day one at the New Colossus Festival, held last week. The six-day event takes its name from the poem cast on the Statue of Liberty, viewed as a welcome message for new immigrants: “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses….” Now in its sixth year, 196 artists were scheduled ...

Book Review: ‘Lincoln’s Peace’ offers lessons for these times from the Civil War

March 20, 2025

“Lincoln’s Peace” offers a pair of fascinating what ifs. Had the Union maintained a larger and stronger post-Civil War occupying army, could it have banished all the residual slavery practices and prevented the formation of the Ku Klux Klan and other hate groups that crawled out from the Confederacy ruins? And how different might the outcomes have been in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan had we thought harder about what we were going to do to resolve the issues that triggered armed conflict? As Michael Vorenberg notes in “Lincoln’s Peace,” the end of a war does not ...

Broadway’s Eva Noblezada, Jonathan Groff, Jeremy Jordan, Ben Platt and Kelli O’Hara star on album

March 20, 2025

NEW YORK (AP) — Lea Salonga stepped onto a Manhattan stage last spring and sang something unusual for her — “Edelweiss” from the musical “The Sound of Music,” a song usually performed by the paternal Captain von Trapp. It was part of MCC Theater’s annual “Miscast” gala ...

Repasz Band Wagon: Williamsport Ensemble opens fund drive

March 13, 2025

WILLIAMSPORT — Now nearly 200 years old, Williamsport’s world-famous Repasz Band has announced a new Endowment Fund to help the group continue its popular slate of free local concerts. “Never before has the band’s existence to continue been directly threatened,” says Repasz ...

Tickets on sale for PSU performance by Leon Thomas

March 13, 2025

UNIVERSITY PARK — Leon Thomas, in his soulfully dramatic, rock-R&B era, will make his Penn State debut in a live concert at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 25, in Eisenhower Auditorium, to perform songs from his newest album, “Mutt.” Tickets are on sale now, beginning at 10 a.m. today, for ...

Broadway Tour’s ‘The Addams Family’ comes to Penn State for two shows April 1–2

March 13, 2025

UNIVERSITY PARK — A comical feast that embraces the wackiness in every family, the magnificently macabre hit musical “The Addams Family” will haunt Penn State with two performances at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 1, and 7 p.m., Wednesday, April 2, in Eisenhower Auditorium. Tickets are $81 and $66 for an adult; $64 and $49 for a person 18 and younger; and $45 and $40 for a University Park student. Purchase your tickets online for the April 1 and April 2 performances. You can avoid the $4-per-ticket online service fee by calling 814-863-0255; or buying in person from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. ...