The Persistence of the Palace

By Lomie Blum,  News Editor

One of the most felt changes during the era of COVID is the temporary and at times permanent closing of venues across the nation, no matter how big or small. 

Albany’s historic performing arts center, The Palace Theatre, has felt the effect of these closings and recently postponed show dates again. However, the theatre has hope for the future and persists through the challenges of the global pandemic. 

The Coronavirus has put a pause on life. The idea of doing normal things such as going to a restaurant, going to a movie theatre, and going to concerts seem like things of the past. 

Sean Allen, director of marketing at the Palace Theatre, discusses closing the space in March of 2020. 

“About the second week of March, it looked like, OK, we’ll probably have to close down for a little bit, along with a number of other people. But, you know, it shouldn’t take that long, and then, you know, here we are a year later,” Allen said. 

The Palace Theatre is a non-profit performing arts center and was originally opened in 1931 as a vaudeville and movie theatre until closing in 1969. Soon after its initial closing, it was bought by the City of Albany and later registered as a historic theatre and site in 1979. 

The theatre has hosted acts such as The Rolling Stones, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Bruce Springsteen, the Albany Symphony Orchestra, along with several local artists from the capital region. 

Allen discusses the help and loyalty from the community during these turbulent times, the theatre’s impact on people, and the memories it has made for many. 

“A lot of the community has stepped up in our fundraising campaign that we’ve done this year,” Allen said. 

“A lot [of donations] have come from our area with a lot of really nice notes from people in the community, who told us how much the theatre means to them, from either when they were a kid to a show that they saw just last year at the theatre,” Allen added. 

The Palace Theatre has also been giving back to the community by helping out, bringing joy to others, and giving artists a platform to perform during a pandemic. 

In June, the theatre started a monthly virtual series called “the Palace sessions” in which an artist performs at the theatre and it is live-streamed. One can also donate during these virtual events towards the theatre. This also gives jobs to the theatre’s stagehands and staff whose jobs and income are in jeopardy due to all the venue closings and lack of shows.

“It’s definitely something we’ve been doing just to sort of stay active, stay a part of the community,” Allen stated on the sessions. 

The theatre also recently celebrated Black History Month, hosted student art installations, and has teamed up with organizations to help other small businesses. 

Allen also mentioned that once a week in June the theatre hosted a food pantry to help those struggling. 

“We actually had a food pantry outside of the palace under the marquee. To sort of help the people in our neighborhood who were struggling because of all the COVID business closures and all the trickle-down that’s happened from everything just being closed,” Allen said. 

“We’ve been trying to do things like that that are a little less prominent, but things that we feel are really important to just being a part of the community,” Allen stated. 

According to a January Billboard article, at least 88 venues have closed nationwide. 

Allen discusses these numerous closures throughout the country and how the Palace is trying to help.

“We have regular calls with a local performing arts conglomerate, groups of people, leaders, and employees from a lot of the local venues in the area regionally, a little bit nationally,” Allen stated. 

Allen also mentioned that the theatre has talked to the state regarding the issues facing venues. 

“We just try to stay in regular contact with [smaller venues and the state] because all of us are going to face a lot of the exact same challenges at the same time. And so it’s really good to have sort of a unified position on how to proceed and how to reopen. When we’re able to reopen, you want it to be nice and smooth,” Allen said. “We want to make sure anyone who steps in the front doors feels safe and can have a good time,” Allen added. 

Allen also emphasized the importance of supporting venues and artists during these unprecedented times. 

“If you have a venue that you love, support them. I’d say any venue that has anybody left working for them has put out a way to support them. And they made it nice and easy. You can go right to the website. You can text somebody, you can send a check,” Allen said. “If you have an artist that you love, you know, buy their music directly from them, because anybody who works in any capacity in this industry right now is basically just sitting around trying to figure out where their next check is coming from,” Allen continued. 

The Palace Theatre is accepting donations via their website. 

Congress has also recently passed the National Independent Venue Association’s (NIVA) “Save Our Stages” act as part of the COVID relief bill. This will help venues receive assistance during these difficult times. One can donate to “Save Our Stages” on their website.  

The reopening of venues is difficult to get a concrete answer on from anyone due to the unpredictability of the virus. 

Allen hopes that venues and theatres could potentially reopen during the fall of this year. He is enthusiastic about that maybe happening. However, he states that he is following the government’s advice on when to and how to proceed. 

“The concept that maybe by the fall you could see some performances again, that would be fantastic, we’d all be thrilled about that,” Allen said. 

“If we’re allowed to have concerts in September and they’re saying, well, you know, the percentage of vaccinations that needed to happen has occurred and things are lenient, we’ll proceed based on that. But at the end of the day, so much of it is going to come from what the state and federal governments tell us we have to do. Of course, we’ll abide by that for safety and for legal reasons,” Allen remarked.  

Allen discussed the numerous postponements and canceling of concerts at the theatre. He states that when the Palace opens up again it will be a mix of rebooking old shows, booking new ones, and the rescheduled dates going on to finally perform. 

Allen also suggested that when the Palace does open, he would like to continue the theatre’s live streams and even potentially live stream live concerts. 

“if you have a sold-out show, then videotaping and streaming it so people that couldn’t go to the show, could watch it,” Allen said.

Allen discussed this as a potentially positive aspect of COVID, new opportunities to embark on that you might not have been able to before.

“I think that a lot of people have found that there’s just a way you can reach people in a way that you couldn’t any other way. So that’s actually a really cool thing. I think it opens the door to a lot of possibilities,” Allen said. 

When asked about the one thing that he learned during the pandemic and running a venue. Allen stated, “prepare and be ready for anything because you really have no idea what can happen.” 

Soon after, The Hudsonian spoke to Mr. Allen, New York State governor, Andrew Cuomo, who announced at a conference in Albany on March 3rd, that New York venues can reopen in April at a 33 percent capacity. 

You can donate to the Palace Theatre on their website and you can also to other venues via the “Save Our Stages” website. 

The Palace Theatre donation page – https://60382.thankyou4caring.org/Donatenow

“Save Our Stages” website – https://www.saveourstages.com/about-us