The Palace Theatre, located in Downtown Stamford, will host productions of popular Broadway shows as part of its new Theatre Series. The family theater hosts a variety of family-friendly performing arts activities year-round.
Broadway has found a new home outside New York City. The Palace Theatre is bringing full-scale, family-friendly productions of Broadway musicals and plays to its stage for the first time this September.
The upcoming Theatre Series, slated to debut with a production of Hal Holbrook’s Mark Twain Tonight on Sept. 26, has “something for everyone,” says B.T. McNicholl, artistic director and veteran of the business. In the coming months, theatergoers can see productions of beloved shows, including Disney’s Beauty and the Beast on Oct. 30 and 31, a production of Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer: The Musical on Nov. 28, and Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol on Dec. 10.
“There’s nowhere else outside of New York City where you can see a Broadway show at this scale and on this level,” McNicholl adds.
The Palace hopes to draw young audiences to experience the thrill of theater and be inspired by it, McNicholl says. The theater provides year-round arts and educational program for kids of all ages, including festivals and weeklong intensives to immerse children in performing arts. “We are a beacon in the community for arts education, whether it be for acting, singing, or dance,” says Sarah Gmyr, director of marketing. The Young Choreographers Festival will take place in December and feature original dances created by choreographers ages 13-22 from area dance schools.
There are plenty of options for pint-sized theatergoers too, McNicholl says. In the winter, kids can attend Playtime at the Palace, featuring a different live performance each week—from magicians and puppeteers to storytellers and bubble makers. This month’s show for tots is The Wiggles in concert on Sept. 29.
Main photo: Disney’s Beauty and the Beast will show at The Palace Theatre Oct. 30-31.
