SPRING SERIES: THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT!

Sharpen your pencils! The Henry B. Plant Museum is proud to announce the return of an exclusive members-only program. This monthly series of conversations by University of Tampa faculty offers an in-depth examination of subjects featured in the Museum’s exhibits and collection. Each meeting lasts approximately 50 minutes. The Spring sessions explore the history of popular entertainment.

Obscenity or High Art? The Social Geography of Living Pictures
Charles McGraw Groh, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Henry B. Plant Museum
Associate Professor of History


A popular feature of New York vaudeville theaters and the Tampa Bay Hotel Casino, tableaux vivants, or “living pictures”, became the target of moral crusaders in Gilded Age America. Living picture performances featured models posing as works of art, including famous statues and paintings. But why did some people find them obscene? Join Dr. Charles McGraw Groh for an eye-opening look at class politics and popular entertainment at the turn of the century.

April 12, 2026, 1:00 PM
Plant Hall Room 220 (Close to the main staircase on 2nd Floor)


Eugen Sandow
"Father of Modern Bodybuilding"


Ladies of Wilbur Opera Co. and Susan Kirwin


Staging the Exotic Other: Race, Class, and Gender in Late Romantic Opera
Anne Heminger, Ph.D.
March 8, 2026, 1:00 PM

Is it Pop or is it Op? Operetta and Popular Song at the Turn of the Twentieth Century
Rodney Shores, M.M., D.W.S.
February 8, 2026, 1:00 PM

From Cakewalk to Charleston: Popular Social Dances from the Turn of the Twentieth Century
Susannah LeMarquand, M.F.A.
January 11, 2026, 1:00 PM

Attendance is free, but participation is limited to members. RSVP to Juan Underbakke at junderbakke@ut.edu or 813.258-7301.