Opening Our Doors: Recent Guest Events Highlights
Posted September 10, 2026
There is a particular kind of joy that comes from watching our spaces come alive with people, performances, celebrations and causes that matter. Whether young performers take the stage, families gather to celebrate a graduate, or a non-profit organization brings people together around its mission, there is an energy that fills the room and makes each event feel special. That is the joy of hosting guest events, and this spring gave us more of it than we could have hoped for.
While our presenting season fills our stages with world-class artists, our guest events calendar fills them with something just as vital: our own community. Penn's schools and centers, student organizations, alumni groups and Philadelphia partners all turn to Penn Live Arts to celebrate, perform, honor and gather. We are fortunate to be the room where all of that happened, and we're delighted to look back on a few of the moments that made the spring 2026 season so special.
A First Time at the Annenberg Center
Sometimes, the best part of this job is watching a group make the space their own for the very first time. This spring, the Perelman School of Medicine's beloved Spoof Show took the Zellerbach stage for the first time in its long history, bringing the talents (and the comedic timing) of Penn's future physicians to a new home. Watching a tradition find its footing on our stage is exactly the kind of welcome we love to extend, and we can't wait to see how their 2027 show takes shape.
Fifty Years of Wharton Follies
Other times, we get to help carry forward long-standing traditions. The Wharton Follies celebrated its 50th anniversary with us this spring, a milestone that speaks to just how long Penn's students have been finding their way to our stages to sing, dance and poke a little fun at business school life. Half a century of Follies is a testament to the enduring spirit of Penn MBAs. While we may never know how they find the time to produce a new full-length musical extravaganza every year, we’re proud to help set the stage for their next fifty years.
SPEC Connaissance Welcomes Penn Badgley
Penn Live Arts venues have long been a gathering place for campus-wide conversation, and, this spring, SPEC Connaissance brought actor Penn Badgley to campus for an evening that drew students from every corner of Penn. It was the second half of a memorable year for the series, following Randall Park's visit to campus in the fall. Moments like these remind us that our venues aren't just performance spaces; they're places where students come together to listen, ask questions and connect.
Honoring Community at the Harrison Society Luncheon
Not every gathering needs a stage to be meaningful. The Harrison Society was founded to provide ongoing thanks and to acknowledge the generosity of those who keep the University shining bright. This spring, the Society's annual luncheon filled the Feintuch Family Lobby at the Annenberg Center with warmth and gratitude, a reminder that hospitality here takes many forms. Sometimes it's a spotlight, and sometimes it's a shared meal among kind company.
Beyond the Game
Our Annenberg Center Outdoor Plaza came alive this spring with Beyond the Game, a musical celebration connected to Penn Libraries' symposium honoring Haitian culture, pride and history, held in conjunction with Haiti's World Cup match against Brazil in Philadelphia. It was an exciting time for our city, and we were happy to be part of the fun, welcoming live music, community and celebration right onto our plaza. There's something wonderful about programming that doesn't wait for an audience to find its way inside. It steps outside to meet them where they are, right in the heart of campus.
Building Community Through External Partnerships
Some of our favorite guest events each season come from beyond Penn's footprint entirely. This spring, we were thrilled to welcome Play On Philly's Evening of Harmony Gala, celebrating the organization's transformative music education work in Philadelphia schools. We also hosted MOVE Reimagined's Benefit Gala, an evening marking 40 years of resilience and honoring the power of community as the organization steps boldly into a new path forward. The Lady Hoofers returned with their Spring Concert Series, filling our Prince Theatre with the joyful clatter of tap. Every time an organization chooses Penn Live Arts for their milestone moment, we're reminded that our venues belong not just to the University but to the broader community we're proud to call home.
Looking Ahead
Our spaces are always most alive when they're shared. As we turn the page to a new academic year, our calendar is already filling with the fingerprints of dozens of different groups: student associations preparing for resource fairs, alumni eager to spend Homecoming weekend reconnecting, community partners looking to wow their guests with a not-so-traditional event space. Turning our lobbies and theatres over again and again, sometimes several times in a single week, is not a logistical challenge we merely manage. It's the whole point. Every load-in and strike is another chance to say “welcome.”
To everyone who brought their event, their guests and their vision to Penn Live Arts this spring, thank you for trusting us to help make it happen. And to everyone still deciding where to hold your next celebration, performance or gathering, we'd love to show you around and welcome you in.
Interested in hosting your next even Read more...
2026 Summer Hiatus
Thank you to the incredible artists, dedicated patrons and generous supporters who joined us in our 25/26 season, America Unfinished, reflecting on this pivotal moment in our country's legacy. Read more...
Spring 2026 Highlights
America Unfinished Penn Live Arts Commission World Premieres
We couldn’t be more pleased with how the second half of our 25/26 season unfolded. Closing out 2025, we were honored to be named
WHYY’s favorite venue. Multimedia journalist Tonya Pendleton shared, “The staff is lovely, the seats are comfy and the acoustics are great.” Pendleton also selected drummer Justin Faulkner as her favorite musician of the year, and he was most recently seen on our stage in the fall with the Branford Marsalis Quartet.
Stepping into 2026, we continued the celebration of our country’s 250th anniversary Read more...
Making Losing My Religion
Accelerator Program Dance Penn Live Arts Commission World Premieres
We are proud to have been an incubator for Rennie Harris’ impactful work over the past three years and look forward to continuing this great partnership in the future. In this video, we reflect on the residency and take a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of
Losing My Religion.
WATCH NOW
Summer 2026 Internships and Funding Awards
Now that Penn students have swept their dorms, dragged suitcases to the curb and waved goodbye to campus, many are preparing for a big milestone: summer internships. We are pleased to announce that nine students received internship support from Penn Live Arts through our Arts & Entertainment Career Connections program with internships offered in partnership with alumni employers or through funding awards made to those who had already secured opportunities.
This summer’s cohort of interns is our largest since the program began in 2022, and also the most academically diverse. Read more...
Toll the Bell: 2026
In the Philadelphia area, we hear near-constant news about gun violence. Our fellow citizens are injured or dying with all-too-frequent regularity in shootings near public schools, in workplaces and at gatherings meant for celebration. Though our home ranks among the top twenty cities nationally with the highest gun homicide rates, gun violence isn't exclusive to Philadelphia; within the United States, tens of thousands of people die of gun-related injuries every year.
Though these are troubling realities, there are real signs of hope. Read more...
Amplifying the Arts in America 250 Celebrations
Dance Penn Live Arts Commission World Premieres
Kathy Sachs, founder and chair of ArtPhilly, wanted to amplify the arts in the city’s semiquincentennial celebration this summer . As plans took shape for the organization’s inaugural
What Now: 2026 Festival, Sachs turned to us at Penn Live Arts, where she sits on the Board of Advisors.
Read more...The Tricia & Jason Pantzer Family Box Office
We are thrilled to share that a $1 million gift will name the Tricia & Jason Pantzer Family Box Office at the Annenberg Center. The Pantzer family’s gift stands among the early leadership support of our capital campaign and reflects their strong belief in efforts to renovate and expand the facilities that support performance and cultural life on campus.
Read more...America Unfinished: Tommie-Waheed Evans
Dance Penn Live Arts Commission World Premieres
Tommie-Waheed Evans is a featured artist in our 25/26 season, America Unfinished, marking our country’s 250th anniversary. The choreographer’s latest work, in case of fire, speak—which we co-commissioned with ArtPhilly—responds to Martha Graham’s American Document (1938) and its essential question: “What is an American?”. Performed by the Martha Graham Dance Company with dancers from PHILADANCO!, the work premieres on our stage on May 29-30.
Ahead of the performance, we invited Evans to reflect and share his thoughts on the piece and this pivotal moment in our country’s legacy: Read more...
26/27 Season: Belonging
Belonging
What does it mean to belong? What do we carry with us, and what do we leave behind?
In our 26/27 season, Belonging, we explore how people navigate change and find acceptance in new worlds while longing for the community and traditions of home. Across great distances and generations, migration has formed our country as a living mosaic of cultures continually being remade, reimagined and passed on. We celebrate this vibrant and evolving tapestry through the lens of music, dance and theatre, revealing belonging not as a fixed place, but as something we must continually create together. Read more...
