Casting for “Leaving Iowa” went up outside the performing arts classroom Friday morning, Dec. 20. The story centers around a middle-aged writer named Don Browning and his trek across Iowa to find a final resting place for his dad’s ashes. “Leaving Iowa” will premiere Feb. 20, 2020, in the Performing Arts Center.

A musical that perfectly tells the life of a museum curator by day and a con man at night will open in November. The musical, Barnum the Magnificent, will follow the life of PT Barnum, a con-artist and...