Palace Theatre Gala

I have written about many cool places in Stamford in the past, and today I am going to talk about another one, The Palace Theatre! This is a 1,580 seat theatre that was originally designed as a vaudeville house and opened in 1927, and restored and reopened in 1983 for live theatre, concerts, and art exhibitions. In recent years, it has hosted performers such as Hall & Oates, Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood from “Whose Line Is It Anyway,” David Crosby and Graham Nash, Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull, comedian Lewis Black, legendary singer Joan Baez, rock singer Grace Potter, comedian Louis CK, Harry Connick Jr, comedian Brian Regan, comedian and ventriloquist Jeff Dunham, soul singer Billy Ocean, comedian Gabriel Iglesias, comedian Lisa Lampanelli, popular children’s group The Wiggles, The Brian Setzer Orchestra, rock band Chicago, food show host Alton Brown, comedian Ron White, Michael McDonald from The Doobie Brothers, comedian Tim Allen, John Mulaney and Pete Davidson, rock band Styx, and many other singers and comedians. 

One event that they have year after year, which is what I will be focusing on for this blog post, is their annual Gala. This is an event that first started in 2010 and serves as a fundraiser for the Stamford Center for the Arts, and also features a performance from an artist, typically one that can be considered a legend. 

The first Gala in 2010 honored Stamford resident Michael Cacace and jazz legend Dave Brubeck, who was the first recipient of the Stamford Center for the Arts Legacy Award. This event started off with a ceremony where he received his award, and then transitioned into a benefit concert where he performed with The Dave Brubeck Quartet. The purpose behind the award was to recognize great performers in arts and entertainment, as well as those who have made a lasting contribution towards arts education. The decision behind honoring Brubeck came after members of the board of the Stamford Center for the Arts were discussing ways that the organization could rededicate itself to the mission of arts education after the Center filed for bankruptcy in August 2008 and was suspended in 2009. Proceeds from the Gala went towards their Summer 2010 Arts Infusion Education Program, which was designed to engage and teach young people ages 4 to 18 in the area, and for the 2010-2011 season, a scholarship was awarded in Brubeck’s name. 

The second Gala in 2011 honored both Stamford community leader Frank J. Mercede and the legendary Diana Ross. Mercede was given the Arts Ovation Award, while Ross was named that year’s Arts Legacy Award winner. Frank Mercede has been involved with a number of organizations in the city, even working on expansions for the Palace Theatre, and Diana Ross coincidentally also had a home in Greenwich at the time, which could have been part of the reason why they chose to honor her that year. The funds that were raised were also used to help identify emerging talents, and that year, the Emerging Young Artist $2,000 Scholarship went to Danny Pravder, a junior at Staples High School who was a jazz pianist, who received the scholarship in Dave Brubeck’s honor. The following year, a young artist would receive a scholarship in Diana Ross’ honor.

The third Gala in 2012 gave Arts Ovation Awards to Michael Widland of Weston and Moira Lyons of Stamford, while the Arts Legacy Award went to the performer that year, who was the legendary Liza Minnelli. During the event, the winner of the $2,000 Emerging Young Artist Scholarship was also announced, and it was a vocalist named EJ Couloucoundis, and the two previous winners, jazz pianist Danny Pravder and violinist Anna Leunis, also performed as well.

The fourth Gala in 2013 gave Arts Ovation Awards to Harman International, who had given The Palace Theatre a brand new, state-of-the-art audio installation the previous year. The Emerging Young Artist Scholarship that year went to Elizabeth D’Aiuto, a vocalist from Ridgefield High School. The performer that year was legendary actor, comedian and musician Steve Martin, who was joined by bluegrass band The Steep Canyon Rangers and folk singer Edie Brickell. 

The fifth Gala in 2014 may not have had a big performer, as none of the articles I found about the event mentioned one, and I couldn’t find anything on social media, but it still honored emerging young performers. That year, The Palace gave out four awards, a $2,000 Grand Prize, a $500 Second Prize, a $250 Third Prize, and a $150 Promising Young Artist award. The grand prize winner was Anna Black, a Senior at Greenwich High School who won the award for original composition. The second prize winner was Connor Levinson, who writes music, plays guitar, and French horn. The third prize winner was Allison Lui, a pianist and violist who at the time was the Assistant Principal Violist of the Norwalk Youth Symphony’s Principal Orchestra, and the Principal Violist with the DHS Pops Chamber Ensemble. The first Promising Young Artist scholarship went to an eighth grader from Stamford, who they specifically chose to create the award for. There were also some special guests in attendance at the Gala, such as David Friedman, the conductor of the Disney movies "Beauty and The Beast” and “Aladdin,” composer and Broadway publisher Paul McKibbins, and John Yoon, an award-winning educator from Greenwich High School.

All that I was able to find on the sixth Gala in 2015 was that they had a big performer that year, comedian and late night TV legend Jay Leno.

For the seventh Gala in 2016, The Palace Theatre welcomed legendary actor and Broadway performer Ben Vereen. 

For the eighth Gala in 2017, The Palace Theatre was also celebrating 90 years. That year, the Arts Ovation Award went to at the time Mayor of Stamford David R. Martin. The performer they got that year was Chicago, which is one of the longest running rock bands in history. 

For the ninth Gala in 2018, the Arts Ovation Award went to SL Green Realty Corp., and there was a performance from legendary funk group Earth, Wind, & Fire.

For the tenth Gala in 2019, the performer was legendary R&B singer Dionne Warwick.

The Gala didn’t happen in 2020, 2021, and 2022 due to the pandemic, but it returned for the eleventh Gala in 2023 with a performance from comedian and former “Daily Show” host Trevor Noah, which is in my opinion an amazing way to come back after three years, and the honoree that year was Senator Richard Blumenthal.

For the twelfth Gala in 2024, the Arts Ovation Award went to Jodi Gutierrez, an involved and active member of the Stamford community who has been with George Comfort & Sons Inc. for 30 years, and the performer that year was country group Lady A, which is also the first time that they had someone that people my age would be familiar with.

For the upcoming thirteenth Gala on May 16, the Arts Ovation Award will be going to Lynne Colatrella, who worked for the Stamford Downtown Special Services District for 25 years and was in charge of events like Alive At Five and the Stamford Downtown Parade Spectacular, and the musical performers this year will be the legendary Kool & the Gang. The pre-show celebration will also have orchestra seating for the show, small plates of food, an open bar with themed cocktails, disco decor, a best disco dressed contest, a silent auction with Kool & the Gang meet and greets, and a photo booth. 

Overall, this yearly event has brought some exciting performers to Stamford, and it is continuing to do so this year. So, get your tickets and go support this amazing venue!