Stamford Center for the Arts facts for kids
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| Address | 61 Atlantic Street (Palace) 307 Atlantic Street (Rich) Stamford, Connecticut United States |
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| Coordinates | 41°03′04″N 73°32′24″W / 41.0511686°N 73.5400128°W |
| Capacity | Palace: 1,580 Truglia: 757 |
| Current use | concert hall (Palace) television studio (Rich) |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1927 (Palace) 1992 (Rich) |
| Architect | Thomas W. Lamb (Palace) |
| Tenants | |
| NBCUniversal (Rich) | |
The Palace Theatre is a cool place in downtown Stamford, Connecticut, USA. It's actually made up of two main buildings on Atlantic Street: the old, restored Palace Theatre and the Rich Forum. They are pretty close to each other!
Contents
What's Inside the Palace Theatre?
- The Palace Theatre itself, located at 61 Atlantic Street, has 1,580 seats. It first opened in 1927 as a vaudeville house, which was a popular type of theater that showed many different acts like music, comedy, and dance.
- The Palace Theatre was fixed up and reopened in 1983. Now, it hosts live plays, concerts, and art shows.
- Recently, the theater got some awesome upgrades! It now has a bigger stage, new dressing rooms for performers, and better equipment to help shows run smoothly.
Discover the Rich Forum
The Rich Forum opened in 1992 at 307 Atlantic Street. It's home to several cool spaces:
- Truglia Theatre: This is a regular theater with 757 seats, perfect for plays and performances.
- Leonhardt Studio: This is a "black box" theater. It's a flexible space that can be set up in different ways for smaller, more personal shows.
- Mercede Promenade: This is the main lobby and a great spot for people to gather before or after a show.
- Rossi Salon: Located upstairs, this room offers a fantastic view of downtown Stamford.
- Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Gallery: This gallery overlooks the Mercede Promenade and often features art.
TV Shows Filmed Here
The Rich Forum is also known as the Stamford Media Center. NBCUniversal uses it to film several TV shows. They get special tax credits from the state to help with production costs. Shows like The Steve Wilkos Show and Karamo are filmed here. In the past, shows like Maury, Jerry Springer, and The Trisha Goddard Show were also filmed at this location.
Amazing Performances and Artists
Both the Rich Forum and the Palace Theatre host many different groups and performers. You can see shows by the Connecticut Grand Opera and Orchestra, the Stamford Symphony Orchestra, and the Ballet School of Stamford, among others.
Many famous artists have performed at these theaters, including:
- Singers like Lily Tomlin, Peter, Paul & Mary, Tom Jones, B.B. King, Harry Belafonte, Ray Charles, Liza Minnelli, Willie Nelson, Tony Bennett, and Judy Collins.
- Comedians like Carrot Top and Kathy Griffin.
- Classical musicians like Itzhak Perlman, Emanuel Ax, Yo-Yo Ma, and Isaac Stern.
Television Studios
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In 2009, it was announced that popular TV talk shows like Jerry Springer, Maury, and The Steve Wilkos Show would start filming at the Rich Forum. Connecticut offered special tax breaks to encourage these shows to move there. The state also helped by investing money in local improvements. The Trisha Goddard Show also filmed here from 2012 to 2014. The company that produces these shows, Stamford Media Center Productions, is part of NBCUniversal.
See Also
- Arts and culture in Stamford, Connecticut
- List of concert halls
