Professional artists recall their time in Eisenhower Auditorium’s spotlight

Starting in 1974, scores of practitioners of the stage made their way through Eisenhower Auditorium — some as student performers, most as College of Arts and Architecture graduates, and some in a professional capacity on stage or behind the scenes.

Many who took classes in Penn State’s School of Theatre have carved out a career for themselves in the performing arts, including Lisa Zinni, costume designer for “Rent”; Richard Spitaletta, an actor who toured America in “Something Rotten!”; or Jim Hogan and Liam Fennecken (the latter of touring Broadway’s “Once”), who have gone viral for their vocal group T3 on TikTok.

To celebrate Eisenhower Auditorium’s 50th anniversary, a few Penn State alumni recalled their favorite memories and post-graduate experiences.

“Penn State means family to me,” said the 2010 musical theatre graduate and famed Broadway actress. “I wouldn’t be the performer I am, but even more, I wouldn’t be the human I am today without Penn State.”

Bowman said she holds many fond memories from her time at Penn State and created many long-term friendships along the way.

“I remember my senior year, I had a choreography project I had to do for dance class,” she said. “My roommates wanted me to go out with them, so they all helped me choreograph my dance project in the living room so we could all go out that night.”

During Bowman’s fourth year at Penn State, she had the opportunity to star in “Fame,” the China tour, where she played lead Carmen Diaz. This jumpstarted her theatre career; after the tour ended, Bowman went on to be The Lady of the Lake in the U.S. tour of “Spamalot,” a musical inspired by “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”

Her role in “Spamalot” brought her back to Penn State in September 2010 for two shows at Eisenhower Auditorium.

“Everyone welcomed me back with open arms,” Bowman said. “It was also such a fun show to bring to Penn State. It was cool to put to work the skills I learned in school to make my program proud.”

After “Spamalot,” Bowman went on to star in the U.S. tour of “Evita” as Eva Perón. She also starred on Broadway in “Kinky Boots” as Nicola and in “Wicked” as Elphaba. Bowman is now starring as Elsa in the U.S. tour of “Frozen,” inspired by the 2013 hit movie by Disney.

“I have had an extensive theatre career since I graduated college that I’m proud of, but work is not the most important thing in life,” she said. “My relationships are, and every moment I get with my people is a gift.”

Listen to a 2010 Center for the Performing Arts interview with Bowman before her visit to Eisenhower Auditorium with “Monty Python’s Spamalot."

 

“Coming back to Penn State to perform felt like a full-circle moment,” said Patrick Graver. While a student, “I'd watch the national tours at Eisenhower Auditorium and dream of being on that stage.”

He graduated from Penn State in 2013 with a musical theatre degree and said he had the best time at Penn State.

“One of my favorite memories was during my freshman year,” Graver said. “I invited my musical theatre class to my tiny apartment for a Christmas party. The twelve of us squeezed into my futon to watch Christmas classics and eat our weight in cereal from a makeshift cereal buffet. It was just pure, simple fun.”

After graduating, Graver joined the national tour of “West Side Story,” where he returned to the Penn State stage for one night in November 2013.

“Just months after graduating, I was back with the ‘West Side Story’ national tour, which was incredibly surreal and emotional,” he said. “Seeing my professors and fellow students after the show, all cheering and supportive, was a chillingly proud moment.”

After “West Side Story,” Graver performed in two other national tours: “Bullets Over Broadway” and “Book of Mormon.” When Graver starred in “The Book of Mormon,” he returned to Eisenhower Auditorium, along with another Penn State alum, Brinie Wallace, to bring the Tony Award-winning musical to the Penn State stage. “The Book of Mormon” was presented at Eisenhower Auditorium from October 8-13, 2019.

“My stint with ‘The Book of Mormon’ was particularly special,” Graver said. “I had watched the show on Broadway during college and set my sights on it. Five years later, I joined the Broadway tour, a dream come true.”

During his visit to Happy Valley for “The Book of Mormon” he taught a master class for Penn State theatre students and hosted a talkback session.

“Just like my entire experience as a student at Penn State, I felt a tremendous amount of love and support being back on campus,” Graver said. “I had an opportunity to engage with the current theatre students. Penn State has this incredible way of making you feel at home and cherished, and that really stood out during my return.”

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Graver decided to transition from national tours to the world of finance. He recently opened a financial firm, Center Stage Planning LLC, where he is a certified financial planner.

Read a 2019 Center for the Performing Arts interview with “The Book of Mormon” actors Graver and Wallace.

 

“It was so thrilling!” said Dianna Marie Barger, when asked about returning to Penn State to perform. “It really filled me with a sense of pride and accomplishment to be back at my alma mater.”

Barger graduated from Penn State in 2009 with a musical theatre degree.

“My favorite part of my time at Penn State was building lifelong friendships,” she said. “To this day, my closest friends are from my graduating class.”

After graduating, Barger went on to be a personal trainer in New York until she landed her first role as Francine and the dance captain in the New World Stage production of “Jersey Boys.” The Off-Broadway show soon went on tour, and Barger followed in the same role. This brought her back to Penn State.

“Serving as the dance captain and associate for ‘Jersey Boys’ has been the highlight of my career so far,” Barger said. “I learned just how much I also loved to teach and how satisfying it is to lead a room full of hard-working professionals.”

Listen to a 2018 Center for the Performing Arts interview with Barger before her visit to Eisenhower Auditorium with "Jersey Boys."

Barger performed with “Jersey Boys” for six years until 2022. In 2024, she returned to the Broadway stage, where she is an ensemble member for “A Beautiful Noise,” a musical about Neil Diamond and his rise to fame.

 

“Coming back to Happy Valley in October of 2019 with ‘The Book of Mormon’ Jumamosi-North American tour felt like the most surreal form of déjà vu that I'd ever experienced,” the 2016 musical theatre grad said. “I felt like everywhere I went on campus, I could see the Ghost of Brinie's Past schlepping her way from class to class, running from her dorm to rehearsal, or sneaking pizza into ‘the stacks’ in the library during finals week.”

During her second year at Penn State, Wallace had the opportunity to perform in a rap version of Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” called “Funk It Up About Nothin,’” starring as MC Lady B, or Beatrice as the character is called in the original play. The play was received so well by the Penn State community that it soon held a residency at a club downtown. Wallace said that her time working on “Funk It Up About Nothin’” is one of her favorite memories at Penn State.

“The process of this show in the midst of collegiate studies was hectic, but so much fun and so worth it,” said Wallace. “I had never memorized so much dialogue, learned so much choreography, rapped with a live DJ mixing on the spot, nor done any piece of theatre in a place that wasn’t an actual theatre!”

After graduating, Wallace returned to the Penn State stage in 2019 with “The Book of Mormon,” where she starred as Nabulungi.

“The biggest thing I felt upon returning to campus was immense gratefulness and warmth from all the staff that I’d known from when I was an undergrad,” she said.

During the production’s week-long run, Wallace and Patrick Graver, another Penn State alum who was in “The Book of Mormon” at the same time, hosted a master class with Penn State musical theatre students.

“In the effort to be a lifeline to the current classes striving to enter into the field of acting professionally, I asked the current head of program, John Simpkins, if he would let me host a talkback with another alumnus, Patrick Graver,” Wallace said. “The goal was to candidly illustrate the life of a long-term working actor on tour and, thankfully, Simpkins green-lighted us! It was so great being able to answer questions, offer advice and chat about the career that I had had at that point in such a real way.”

A few months after the run of “The Book of Mormon” at Eisenhower Auditorium the world went into lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which permanently shut down the tour six months before the end of its run. She returned to the production after some time traveling and performing on stage. After that, Wallace reprised her role as Nabulungi in her Broadway debut in “The Book of Mormon.” She joined the cast of “A Beautiful Noise” as a swing when it came to Broadway in November 2022, and now she performs with “The Lion King” national tour as a swing and understudy for Shenzi.

Erica Brown is a freelance writer for the Center for the Performing Arts. She is a 2024 Penn State graduate with degrees in advertising/public relations and English.