Palace’s Rebirth Commences

by Paul Bass | Jan 14, 2015 2:21 pm

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Posted to: Arts & Culture, Music, Downtown

To the boom-boxed strains of the Rolling Stones’ “Start Me Up,” a crew from All-Phaze Remodeling set to work rehabbing an 89-year-old performance hall while officials downstairs heralded the next phase in New Haven’s rebirth. The occasion Wednesday morning was the official announcement that New Haven Center For Performing Arts (NHCPA), a not-for-profit corporation that has kept College Street’s Palace Theater dark for the past 12 years, has begun to fix up the joint and hired a promoter to begin staging concerts there in May. The theater will go by the name College Street Music Hall. The downstairs seats have all been removed; the balcony seats (pictured) remain. A new terraced orchestra section will hold portable seats and tables for 650-capacity “cabaret-style” shows, and be cleared for standing attendees at 2,000-capacity shows. Weeknight shows will have an 11 p.m. curfew; weekend shows will run until midnight. A big-name film festival is also under discussion. Mayor Toni Harp described the “rebirth of this time-honored performance hall” as “another step toward redefining the city.” To which her cultural affairs chief, Andrew Wolf, added: “This is our comeback time.” Harp directed her economic development chief, Matthew Nemerson (pictured), to find someone to reopen the theater, originally constructed in 1926 as a vaudeville and movie theater. Developer Joel Schiavone renovated the hall and reopened it in 1984 in conjunction with the opening of the downtown entertainment district, with the Shubert Theater rebuilt and reopened across the street. The Shubert continued staging shows, while the Palace went dark in 2002. The Palace’s—er, College Street Music Hall’s—reopening returns to the vision of two theaters anchoring the district. It comes at a time when an estimated 2,000 new apartments are on the drawing boards for New Haven, following a host of other building projects in recent years. “A city’s arts and cultural offerings express the heart and soul of [a] community,” Harp said. “We are adding value to that portfolio.” Through a friend—attorney, musician and former Alderman Steve Mednick—Nemerson found a Waterbury promoter named Keith Mahler. NHCPA hired Mahler both to stage the shows and to oversee the renovations. The city is not spending money on the project. Asked at Wednesday event how much the renovations will cost, Mahler (pictured) snapped, “We don’t comment on finances.” NHCPA applied for a building permit on Dec. 2 (which was granted last Friday) to begin doing $80,000 worth of construction at the theater. Other permits will be required. Peter Bugryn of Merrell Architects, which prepared the renovation designs, said the work includes building new bathrooms and exits, bringing the building up to code. NHCPA’s president, Elissa O. Getto (pictured Wednesday with Mednick), called the work “a renovation, not a restoration,” but “a rehabilitation.” The theater’s “bones” are in good shape, she said. An earlier version of this story follows: Palace Theater To Reopen A long-shuttered historic downtown theater across from the Shubert is slated to reopen in May as a concert hall. The promoter brought in to stage the concerts, Keith Mahler, has experience booking shows at another theater-turned-concert hall called the Palace, in Waterbury. He plans to join the Harp administration at a press conference Wednesday morning under the marquee of the New Haven Palace at 238 College St., where details of the theater’s re-rebirth as the College Street Music Hall will be announced. (The marquee for now reads “Apartments Available,” not “Palace.”) Local concert promoter “Manic Mark” Nussbaum is also scheduled to be present. “The theater will feature multi-capacity configurations for up to 2,000 patrons including general admission concerts with open orchestra level and VIP balcony seating; seated theater shows; cabaret table-style seating; or, a blend thereof. Programming at CSMH will focus on a wide range of music including Americana, Indie Rock, Classic Rock, Adult Contemporary, Alternative Modern Rock, Country and Neo Soul, as well as Comedy,” a City Hall press release stated. It said that Mayor Toni Harp had directed her economic development chief, Matthew Nemerson, to seek a way to turn the lights back on at the theater. Nemerson enlisted the help of his friend, attorney and former Alderman (and performing musician) Steven Mednick The news comes a week after another historic institution on the block, the Anchor bar, closed its doors. A former vaudeville house and then movie theater known as the Roger Sherman, the 2,000-seat hall, built in 1926, was renovated and reborn as the Palace Performing Arts Center, a concert venue, in the 1984 as part of developer Joel Schiavone’s revival of the surrounding College-Chapel Street district. A revived Shubert theater also reopened across the street. The Shubert has remained open and busy; the Palace struggled. Schiavone lost that property and others in the district in the 1990s recession; the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) arranged to sell most of the properties to Yale. A not-for-profit corporation called the New Haven Center for Performing Arts Inc. was formed to own the theater. Developers Bob Matthews tried to run the theater but failed to revive it. It shut its doors more than a decade ago. Now the corporation has enlisted Mahler to bring the concerts back. Mahler runs Premier Concerts out of Waterbury. (Read about that here.) In the 1970s he staged rock concerts at Waterbury’s Palace Theater, then went into real-estate investing. He is also listed in state records as the agent for the current incarnation of New Haven Center for Performing Arts Inc., which still owns the shuttered theater on the first floor of 238 College St. PMC Property Group owns the apartments on the four floors above the theater. The city press release said that Mayor Toni Harp had directed his economic development chief, Matthew Nemerson, to seek a way to turn the lights back on at the theater. Nemerson enlisted the help of his friend, attorney and former Alderman (and performing musician) Steven Mednick, who knows Mahler. The NHCPA applied for a building permit on Dec. 2 (which was granted last Friday) to begin doing $80,000 worth of construction at the theater. Other permits will follow. Peter Bugryn of Merrell Architects, which prepared the renovation designs, said the work includes building new bathrooms and exits, bringing the building up to code. Before it closed, the Palace hosted popular touring acts. Some personal favorite concerts seen there in the 1980s: John Prine, B.B. King and Doc Watson. (Saddest-to-miss show: Suzanne Vega.) Have favorite memories of Palace shows? Feel free to post them in the comments section below.

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posted by: BetweenTwoRocks This is great news, but I have to imagine it’ll be difficult to sustain. Toad’s Place already has a near monopoly on decent-sized shows in New Haven, with Cafe Nine, Stella Blues, and now Pacific Tavern catering to small, bar shows. I guess Toad’s Place only holds 750ish, and Palace can presumably do 2000, but still, that feels like the same “level” of band, and I worry that it’ll be difficult to get a foothold. Nonetheless, best of luck and hoping this business succeeds wildly.

posted by: RhyminTyman on January 13, 2015 4:23pm Hard to compare this with Cafe Nine, Or Stella Blues as it will be much bigger. It is probably going to be bigger than Toad’s. This isn’t good for the Oakdale who lost a lot of shows to the casinos. The opened a smaller venue in the concessions area that probavly wouldn’t be as desirable as this if you are booking a show.

posted by: Bill Saunders on January 13, 2015 4:29pm Shades, With the recent successes at the Shubert with acts like Wilco, David Byrne, and Elvis Costello, I think the Palace could do quite well. C’mon, if Waterbury and Torrington can sustain a performing arts center….

posted by: meredith on January 13, 2015 4:46pm This is EXCELLENT news. Just yesterday I was lamenting the loss of the Palace when discussing New Haven’s arts scene with someone from out of town. shadesofzero, I’m not worried about sustainability. The world this new Palace is entering into is completely different from the one it left behind a decade ago. In the past few years New Haven has gone from being a mere gas-stop for bands between NYC and Boston to a must-play on major tours, thanks in no small part to Manic Productions and the other promoters bringing touring acts in to The Space complex, Toads (still, amazingly), The Shubert etc. The Shubert has done well as a venue for larger acts recently, but we’ve sorely missed the Palace as a destination for theater-sized shows at more-manageable ticket price points. A venue like this is definitely a “if you build it, they will come” kind of thing—I would expect other promoters to enter the scene as well (Bowery New Haven, perhaps?). As for Palace memories ... I saw *so many* amazing shows there in the ‘90s. Tori Amos, Bjork, Natalie Merchant, King Crimson, Suzanne Vega (yes I was at that one ;) ... I can’t wait to see shows there again (and not gonna lie, I work in the music biz so I’d love to see some of my artists on that stage too :).

posted by: Stylo on January 13, 2015 4:55pm It’s all about who does the booking. Look at Bowery Presents in NYC. That’s how you do booking. Manic Productions does a great job here in CT, maybe this will help to start booking larger acts. Toad’s isn’t a bad space, but their promoter is lousy and unable to get good acts. The city is ripe with an audience for shows, it just needs the right venue and booking agents. This could fit the bill. Very exciting!

posted by: Brewski on January 13, 2015 4:57pm Great news! I think there is plenty of room for this venue. It’s a totally different market than Toads—2,000 seated audience members vs. 800 sweaty moshers. I love both, so this is a welcome addition.

posted by: Stylo on January 13, 2015 5:25pm Will this definitely be seated or standing room? It wasn’t stated? [Ed.: The seats have been stripped out. We hear a rumor that it will be mostly standing room in the orchestra; with seats upstairs, for a maximum capacity of 2,000. To be confirmed Wednesday.]

posted by: BetweenTwoRocks I hope everybody’s right and I’m way off base. I admit I am not a savvy businessperson, nor am I particularly tuned into the ins and outs of music promotion. I’m just a dude with an Internet connection. I’d love to see some bigger acts come to New Haven. Here’s hoping y’all are right!

posted by: meredith on January 13, 2015 5:54pm Interesting re the capacity/configuration. I’ve been to several newly-renovated theaters of roughly the size of the Palace around the country in the past few years, and when they’re configured like that (usually also with seating possible in the orchestra for certain shows), that greatly expands the flexibility of the space and opportunities for revenue (renting out for weddings, corporate events etc.). If this is true that bodes well for the theater’s sustainability, too. Can’t wait to find out more.

posted by: smackfu on January 13, 2015 6:04pm I think the Calvin Theater in Northhampton, Mass. books the kind of shows that are too big for Toad’s Place and too small for the Oakdale. http://www.iheg.com/calvin_theater_main.asp Granted, that theater is seated, so it can also book comedians and acts aimed at older folks that the Palace wouldn’t get.

posted by: robn on January 13, 2015 7:23pm If anyone can pull this off its Manic Mark.

posted by: Billy on January 13, 2015 9:47pm Absolutely great news. I’m looking through my drawer for my Max Creek tee shirt right now. I saw a great Phish show at the Palace in late December ‘91. They were still weird then. It was lots of fun. I look forward to seeing all kinds of great stuff there. I agree wholeheartedly with Bill Sauders and Meredith. There are many bands that will now be able to play at the proper size venue in our city. I’d personally like to see some big name jazz acts. Thanks Mark and colleagues!!

posted by: k8gus on January 13, 2015 10:13pm This is great for New Haven! Bob Dylan in 96 is my favorite memory of the “Palace”!

posted by: Stylo on January 13, 2015 10:23pm I commented a while ago on a previous article here on NHI that this place would flourish with standing room gen admission and VIP seated balconies, similar to Music Hall Williamsburg. Guess I had a premonition, as even the name is similar. ;)

posted by: Esbey on January 13, 2015 10:26pm I have been hoping for this for a long time, it is the ideal use of the space and a great match for New Haven. I think it will have an outsized effect on attracting residents. Mary O’Leary’s article in the Reg online (which has a few additional renders of the proposed space) says that Nemerson was key to shopping this idea to potential promoters. If true, kudos. The partnership behind the plan sounds like a unusual but interesting mix of non-profit and for-profit entities. Interested to hear details on Wed.

posted by: Stylo on January 13, 2015 10:32pm Also, this is a very significantly sized venue. For comparison, it’s bigger than Music Hall of Williamsburg, bigger than Bowery Ballroom, about the same size as the Hammerstein and Beacon Theater, bigger than Webster Hall, a bit smaller than Terminal 5, bigger than the 9:30 Club and the Fillmore SF, etc. This could pull in a lot of great touring acts and be a real boon for downtown. The large young audience is definitely there.

posted by: Nathan on January 14, 2015 12:34am I think I saw Suzanne Vega twice at the Palace, once with Sue Evans on drums in the ‘80s, then a decade later. Best show: Counting Crows in ‘96. The Sherman/Palace was a great sounding room; hopefully, removing the first level chairs (which were great with extended room between the rows) will not impact the acoustics negatively.

posted by: jpdevin on January 14, 2015 12:55pm Very interesting (and a nice surprise). Hope it works out. Love the theater experience, and the “earlier” starts.

GA on floor sounds like the Capitol in Port Chester, that seems to be working out well. They seem to specialize in Phil Lesh and jam bands.

I know I’ve been to the Palace a few times, but the one show I specifically recall was Dave Edmunds, which would have been mid to late 80’s.

posted by: oogabooga Look at the Norfolk Theater for a good business model. That guy has already opened up another venue in Hartford. I’ve been to Norfolk to see some of the shows he books. It’s out of the way but it’s worth it to go see a good show there. It’s a relatively small, intimate venue. I’d love to be in charge of booking shows at a theater in New Haven. Easily sustainable and profitable if you ask me.

posted by: Mister Jones on January 14, 2015 2:09pm Song X with Ornette Coleman, Pat Metheny, Charlie Haden, and Jack DeJohnette. David Byrne’s Rei Momo tour kd lang kd filled the room with her powerful voice. Byrne danced the night away with his big latin band. And Song X was a highlight of my concert-going life, Ornette’s best late work.

posted by: Mister Jones on January 14, 2015 2:20pm Mahler is an old pro in the business, so he should know what he is doing. The lesson here seems to be that for a promoter to flourish, it needs to control the venue. Oakdale is owned by the Live Nation monopoly and booked by their Jim Koplik, along with Comcast (the Meadows) and the Mohegan Sun venues. I imagine it’s hard to book shows in your competitor’s venue, hard to clear calendar dates and bid against the 300 pound gorilla in the room. This makes good business and arts sense. (I’m shocked, however, that it’s only going to take $80,000 to rehab the place.)

posted by: robn on January 14, 2015 2:35pm Pictured…dudes from “All-Phaze Remodeling?” leaning on an unsecured extra size canister of compressed gas. What could possibly go wrong?

posted by: RHeerema on January 14, 2015 7:00pm Sweet! Can’t wait to find out what the opening night act is. Hope the city is not pouring money into this—should be private money only.

posted by: Bradley on January 15, 2015 9:14am Mr. Jones, I believe the article said that the $80,000 was the cost of the repairs covered by the first set of building permits, with more permits being pulled later.

posted by: ajent1999 on January 15, 2015 11:22am I am excited about the old Palace theatre reopening and bring more arts to the city. As I read the article and saw the different types of concerts coming I hope they will include Gospel. New Haven has a large faith based community that will support these types of concerts(if they bring the right artist). In addition New haven also has local gospel artist who should be given the opportunity to participate in these shows such as Kevin Monroe and Devotion, Tina Morriar, Kergyma Community Choir, Stefon Hawkin and New Hope Fellowship Choir, Jamarr Myrick and Royal Priesthood. looking forward to the reopening.

posted by: robn on January 15, 2015 12:38pm A1999, I agree. Something like Showtime at the Apollo cycling through Gospel, R&B Comedy and amateurs would probably kill in New Haven.

posted by: cttaxpayer on January 18, 2015 12:04pm Something that frustrates those of us in the construction industry is we always get the “press” when things go wrong, but rarely when something great is happening. You folks tend to be better at least in mentioning the contractor on a project, but a full who, what where might be great- particularly if it is a local firm. I could not find a company by the name “All Phaze Remodeling” in a google search other than some outside CT.