The University announced on Nov. 7 that its new performing arts building will be named in honor of 1979 College graduates Julie Platt and Marc Platt following a new gift to Penn Live Arts.
The building, currently under construction along Woodland Walk and 33rd Street and slated to open in early 2027, will be named the Platt Student Performing Arts Center and will provide concert spaces, lounges, and rehearsal rooms for students. Julie Platt serves on the University Board of Trustees and the Penn Live Arts Board of Advisors, while Marc Platt serves on the Director’s Advisory Council for Penn Live Arts.
“As the University’s home for the performing arts, our role is to nurture, incubate, present, and support the full ecosystem of performance on campus,” Christopher Gruits, executive and artistic director of Penn Live Arts, said in the announcement. “Julie and Marc’s generosity will be transformational, as more than a quarter of Penn’s undergraduate students participate in the performing arts.”
Penn President Larry Jameson added that the gift — the monetary amount of which has not been disclosed — will “have an immeasurable impact on generations of students.”
The couple also donated a naming gift for the Platt Performing Arts House in 2006.
Julie Platt is the outgoing vice chair of Penn’s Board of Trustees, and she serves on the Trustees’ Council of Penn Women.
In addition, she has contributed to Penn Hillel and the Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies, serving as co-chair of Hillel’s National Board of Governors and as a member of both organizations’ boards of overseers.
In addition to Julie and Marc Platt’s donations to Penn Live Arts — which have helped to establish the performing arts house and add rehearsal space to Houston Hall — they have also donated to Penn’s Jewish Studies program.
A centerpiece of the new building will be the 325-seat Edward W. Kane Theatre featuring an orchestra pit and full fly tower, supported by a $5 million gift last month from 1971 College graduate Edward Kane and his wife Marty Wallace.
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The $75 million project was announced in 2021 and construction began in 2024. A 125-seat theater will allow for “flexible performance and rehearsal capabilities.” The center will also include five rehearsal studios, a student lounge, and an atrium lobby.
