There’s apparently some big announcement tomorrow about the future of the Palace performing arts space across from the Shubert theater on College Street. One of the people who’ll be there is Elissa O. Getto, who’s the president of some new non-profit organization called New Haven Center For Performing Arts, so that’s a big hint. Getto was on the administrative team that pulled the Stamford Center for the Arts out of bankruptcy. Also set to appear at Wednesday’s announcement: the leaders of two of the city’s biggest and most reliable bookers/promoters of rock shows, Premier Concerts and Manic Productions. Mayor Harp and city Ec. Dev. guru Matt Nemerson will also be there, plus (this is significant), Kip Bergstrom, who’s the big arts-funding poombah for the whole state.
It’s not all that long ago that the Palace closed its doors. It’s had a shorter nap than the Shubert did in the ‘70s. But it petered out slowly, so some may think it’s been closed since the ‘90s when actually it lasted into the ‘00s. It was kept going by gospel musicals, hip-hop shows and jam bands for its last few years. The place had been a popular downtown movie house, The Roger Sherman, since the 1920s, and became the Palace in 1984. The late ‘80s is when I started seeing shows there, and I saw some doozies.
Lou Reed. The Set the Twilight Reeling tour, 1996. I still have the T-shirt.
The Polish political cabaret troupe Piwnica pod Baraniami (Cellar Under the Rams). This was around ’86, ’87. Have that T-shirt too.
Tori Amos (at least twice, I think)
‘70s Soul Jam, with The Chi-Lites, Delfonics, Stylistics, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes and more. Major Harris turned up in three of the acts. This very long show was turned into a PBS special hosted by Jimmie J.J. Walker, and released as a multi-volume VHS tape set.
Joan Armatrading. A down-on-his-luck Graham Nash was the opening act.
Brian May, July 1993. The New Haven Coliseum was still open then, and May was probably wondering why he wasn’t playing over there.
Bjork, with Tricky.
Fawn Hall (of one of the Bill Clinton sex scandals) in a non-Equity national tour of O, Calcutta!
Meat Loaf introducing a community theater production of The Rocky Horror Show.
Cake and Crash Test Dummies. Why not?
The soul/gospel musical A Good Man is Hard to Find.
Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company at one of the early Arts & Ideas festivals.
I saw many other shows at the Palace, but that’ll give you an idea of the range that can occur when you have a theater of that size in the center of New Haven. Even if they scale it down to a Toad’s Place-sized club, as was rumored years ago, that would still be a big deal.