It’s Time to Raise the Curtain: Announcing The Palace’s Fall Season

Comedians, dancers, singers and children’s entertainment will all take the stage this fall at The Palace, bringing a diverse mix of live shows to Stamford. Whether you are a fan of inspirational music, enjoy stand-up comedy or are looking for a family-friendly event, The Palace has something for everyone this fall.

 Live entertainment for families in Stamford

Are your kids fans of Odd Squad? On October 6^th, the PBS Kids hit show Odd Squad comes to The Palace. Kids will love teaming up with the Odd Squad agents in this live, interactive adventure to solve an exciting case. Gadgets, villains and music await. Don’t miss out on a great weekend outing for the whole family. Buy your ODD SQUAD tickets today.

Nationally acclaimed comedienne to visit Stamford

The beloved “Queen of Mean” visits The Palace on September 24^th. Don’t miss your chance to see Lisa Lampanelli live on stage. She is the mastermind behind the off-Broadway hit Stuffed and lauded by Jim Carrey as a “stand out.” Whether you’re planning for a night out with friends or looking for something entertaining to do on your next date night, this insult comic is sure to please. This September, spend a Saturday night with comedian Lisa Lampanelli at The Palace. Lisa Lampanelli tickets are on sale now.

Grammy nominees to deliver inspirational musical performances live at The Palace

Our season officially kicks off on September 18^th, when Grammy nominated artist and five time GMA Dove Award winner Jeremy Camp brings his contemporary sound and uplifting songs of praise and worship to The Palace. This is a great opportunity to see Christian music live in Fairfield County. For a taste of what you can expect, check out the official live video of Jeremy Camp performing Only In You. See Jeremy Camp at The Palace on September 18^th.



Natalie Grant and former American Idol contestant Danny Gokey have joined forces for the Be One Tour, coming to The Palace in Stamford on October 13^th. Natalie has been named Female Vocalist of the Year five times by The Gospel Music Association. She is a four-time Grammy nominated artist who is known for her passionate performances of hits such as Be One. Gokey has become known for his hit song Tell Your Heart to Beat Again, which hit #1 on Billboard’s Christian Airplay Chart, and was named Male Vocalist of the Year at the 2016 K-Love Fan Awards. The Be One Tour rolls into Stamford on October 13^th. Buy your Be One Tour tickets today.

Also gracing The Palace stage this fall will be country singer Olivia Lane, the US Army Field Band, comedian Steve Hofstetter and the show Will and Anthony: A Broadway Holiday. Stay tuned – tickets will be available soon for these live performances in Stamford.

We’re excited to welcome these outstanding acts to The Palace this fall and hope to see you there. Stamford is home to not only The Palace, but great restaurants where you can grab dinner before or after a show. (Be sure to check out the pre-theatre dinner promotion on our website for some great restaurants to try!) Support the arts this fall and catch one or more of these great performances at The Palace.

Check CHET out – and let CHET help you invest in your child’s future!

State Treasurer Denise L. Nappier, as Trustee of the Connecticut Higher Education Trust (CHET) is dedicated to promoting financial literacy across the state, and helping families save for future college costs.

Each year the CHET 529 college savings program hosts various promotions and events to help spread the word about CHET - how easy it is to get started and what a difference it can make for a child’s future. For example:

• CHET Baby Scholars – the state, through CHET, is offering $250 for every new baby born in Connecticut. Don’t miss out, tell family and friends about this great program to get families started early saving for college! Learn more at www.aboutchet.com/babyscholars
• CHET Dream Big! Competition (going on NOW through 3/30, learn more at www.chetdreambig.com ) – Drawing and essay contests for students K-8
• CHET Advance Scholarship – Coming up this fall, high school seniors and freshman can apply for $2,500 college scholarships. Learn more at www.chetadvance.com

What is CHET?  CHET is Connecticut’s 529 college savings plan. CHET offers tax advantages, including tax-free growth and withdrawals, and a CT state income tax deduction.  A CHET account can be opened with as little as $25, and family members and friends can help contribute. To read about all of CHET’s activity in the community, and to learn more about the plan, visit us online at www.aboutchet.com or call 888-799-2438.

CHET 529 College Savings Program is a Sponsor of The Palace Stamford’s:

Click Here to view Black Cultural FEST 2016

Palace Board Member Sheryl Battles Honored at the 2016 Brava Awards!

Let our voices rise in Brava for 11 outstanding women being honored by the YWCA. In a night to be remembered, our very own Sheryl Battles will be recognized for her outstanding leadership, drive and commitment to not only her peers but the community. For representing the core values of the YWCA, Mrs. Battles and ten other women, will be honored for all they have accomplished, and for the impact they have had upon all who they have touched. 

Celebrate 100 Years of Frank Sinatra with John Pizzarelli at The Palace THIS Friday!

THIS Friday, December 4, 2015 at 8:00 pm, the voice of a generation will be awaken from its slumber in the vocal cadences of John Pizzarelli as he celebrates the life and musical legacy of Frank Sinatra. Having the opportunity to open for one of the legendary singer's last tours, Frank Sinatra would leave a lasting impression upon John in five simple words, "Eat something, you look terrible". The rest is, as they say, history.

Gracing the stage of The Palace Theatre in beautiful downtown Stamford, CT. John Pizzarelli will be delighting all with not only the renditions of "Ol Blue Eyes" but of some Christmas classics as well. Having been interviewed by the Daily Voice and the Ct Post  it is of note that stylistically he differs from his counterpart, but still knows how to make every note his own.

 

Pizzarelli featured in Sunday's edition of The Advocate



Stamford is excited about Mark Twain Tonight!

Stamford is eagerly awaiting the return of the legendary Hal Holbrook in his Tony Award winning production of Mark Twain Tonight! 40 years after his first visit.

Want to learn more about what's in store before his performance Saturday, Sept. 26 at 8:00 pm?  Here are some great articles covering why this show is a MUST SEE!

The Palace Blog - Mark Twain is BACK and Better Than Ever!
CT Post - Hal Holbrook as Mark Twain at Stamford Palace Theatre
Stamford Daily Voice - Stamford's Palace Hosting Actor Hal Holbrook in Trademark 'Twain' Role

Look for this week's edition of "Pulse" in Stamford Advocate for an article about Hal Holbrook!

See a teaser for Mark Twain Tonight!

So, what are you waiting for?  Don't miss the opportunity to see Mark Twain come to life at The Palace!
Click Here to buy your tickets!

Hal Holbrook's Mark Twain is BACK and Better Than Ever!

To kick off our Theatre Series, Hal Holbrook returns to The Palace in the role of his lifetime. On September 26, Holbrook joins us as Mark Twain in Hal Holbrook’s Mark Twain Tonight! 

Holbrook uses letters and journal entries from Twain’s life to give modern audiences an idea of the person behind the internationally adored books. The show is biting, funny, and makes the audience feel like Mark Twain is really standing there in front of them, talking about his life and his work.

Holbrook, a critically acclaimed actor for his work on the stage and on the screen, began this project in the early 1950s as a show where he played various people from history, interviewed by his wife Ruby. Twain quickly becoming a favorite of both Holbrook and the audience, the show morphed into a one man show with Twain. The show premiered in 1954, and he toured around various colleges and local theatres. He eventually was picked up by producers and brought the show to New York in 1966. He earned a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Play, and an Emmy Award in 1967 for the broadcasted version of the show.

Poster from Holbrook's original show

 

The show is still evolving even fifty years after its premiere. The original program from the 1959 Off-Broadway engagement included the note “While Mr. Twain’s selections will come from the list below, we have been unable to pin him down as to which of them he will do. He claims this would cripple his inspiration. However, he has generously conceded to a printed program for those who are in distress and wish to fan themselves.” This still appears on programs for the show.

Having given this performance at The Palace over 40 years ago, Holbrook is eager to return. Come and see the work of one man’s incredible career, in the role that started it all.

Holbrook's signature backstage at The Palace from his last visit.

 

Diary of a Triple Threat Performer - Part Two

We at The Palace Theatre could go on and on about the talented students that participate in our Arts-Education programs.  We thought it was about time you hear about the experience directly from the source.  Brandon Wolfe is an 18 year old student from Stamford who participated in our Triple Threat program for a second time.  It wasn't easy, but with hard work and endless talent, the group put on a spectacular show for parents and friends to see!  

This is Part Two of a two part journal chronicling his time in the Triple Threat program.  Thank you Brandon, for sharing your experience!

Campers "break the mold" and rehearse for the big day!

Thursday, July 23 - SANCTUARY

Today was probably the best day this week! We finally got to put everything together and see how the show was going to go, and my thoughts were: not too shabby! We got to hear almost everyone’s prepared songs, but our teacher put a little twist on it. After he listened to each person individually, he gave each of us a different exercise to help our acting. Mine was push-ups (keep in mind I am not that strong and instead of 16 bars I did 32). It helped a lot, but I was pooped for the rest of the day.

Then, we finally put the body percussion together (WHICH I FINALLY GOT!!!). We added free styles and as I was volunteered by the others, (this happens a lot at Triple Threat) I remembered that I can’t dance but I could sing. I decided to sing “You Can’t Stop the Beat” since we were, in fact, making beats. It didn’t fit into the time frame so I decided to speed it up double time.

As some of you may remember, I have an alternate name for that song: “You Can’t Stop to Breathe.” So, doing it twice as fast was interesting. By that day we had all came out of our shells, so the energy was up and we were all ready for tomorrow.

But the biggest problem had to focus on for the rest of the night was…what am I going to wear for the show?!

Friday, July 24 - ESTOOO!!!

So, today is the day of the show and by now we are all ready. That’s the great thing about intensive programs; by the end of the week, you learn so much that by Friday, it’s like you have been training for months (I hope this is how college is). We have grown together quite nicely and I’m really going to miss all of them.

The start of the day was basically just a recap and warm up so I’m not going to waste time going into that. I’m going to tell you about what you really want to hear about; the show.

For starters, the amount of energy and the lack of anxiety were impressive. I still don’t know why I, of all people, was not scared because I’m scared of everything. We messed up quite a few times but Luis (our main teacher) managed to cover it up and made it look like it was all on purpose. He presented us like he was teaching it right before their eyes.

One of my favorite solos that day was “Defying Gravity” (Wicked) when she performed it on Tuesday her exercise was to have everyone in the room laugh at her and discourage her because she was singing it to her classmates who were mean to her and she had to sing it like she was proving them wrong (which she did amazingly). This time, the audience had to discourage her (which they did rather well…) and we had to stand behind her as her as she represented us. I felt the most connection to her having because I have a similar story and decided instead of just standing behind her, we should encourage her. The rest of the kids joined in and you could hear the difference in how powerful her voice was she was asked why did that song her response told us of how bullied and how everyone doubted her and as she graduated middle school she finally overcame and let her confidence shine. If I ever see her again, I just hope she keeps that spirit because it took me until senior year of high school to get where she is now.

P.S . if you are wondering what ESTOOO meant  here’s the story. Valeria, our body percussion teacher, was Italian with a very thick accent and every time we did something right she would yell out ESTOO and now all of us also yell ESTOOO.

Epilogue

One of the best quotes from this program that I will keep forever is, “There is nothing enlightening about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.”  This overall was a great experience and I’m glad I got to do it. I like this quote because I often held back in fear I might outshine someone or be too much but because of it I always ended up falling short. I have learned that my light, talent energy or whatever you want to call it is powerful and there is no use holding it back.

Thank you to all of our camp participants for their hard work and dedication year after year!  We look forward to the fantastic talent coming to next year's Triple Threat!