The mission of the Palace Theatre Trust is to enrich the region's cultural life and serve as a community resource through its stewardship of the historic Palace Theatre. It does so by providing a broad range of live, high quality, professional and community performances, as well as educational opportunities for performers and audiences of all ages.

The Palace Theatre is a non-profit performing arts center that hosts its own professional company, youth and teen program and presenting acts. We are committed to achieving our mission through preserving the historic facilities of the theatre, responding creatively to the cultural and entertainment needs of the community and governing in a fiscally responsible and strategic manner.

The Palace Theatre offers performances that fall into one of three categories: events produced by the Palace, events presented by the Palace and events performed at the Palace by outside groups/entertainers renting our space. Events produced by the Palace include all of our Professional Productions, known as the Citizens Bank "Performing Arts Series", as well as all children's theatre, PYT and teen productions including the Palace Teen Company and the Palace Professional Theatre for Children . These events are produced entirely by Palace staff and are our signature events because the artistic staff at the Palace is dedicated to producing the highest quality theatre in the area. Events presented by the Palace fall into the Celebrity Series . While we do not have a large part in the artistic production of these events, we are proud to present them to you in our beautiful theatre. These events include concerts, comedy acts, magicians and many other types of performances. In the past we were proud to present Foreigner, the Irish Tenors, Beatlejuice, Bob Newhart, the Smothers Brothers, and many more. Finally, we are dedicated to providing performance space to the community and we allow outside performing groups the use of our space throughout the year. Local dance schools, musicians, community theatre groups and many other organizations rent our theatre and utilize our box office, website event listing and some of our technical staff to produce their events.

Our beautiful 840 seat theatre is the only one of its kind in this area and the staff who work here are committed to preserving it. Our new administrative offices are located adjacent to the theatre in the newly renovated United Arts Center which is also home to other local non-profit arts organizations. In addition to these office spaces, the United Arts Center is the rehearsal center of the theatre, with two large dance studios used for rehearsals by the Palace Professional Theatre, the Palace Youth and Teen Theatre and the Palace Teen Company as well as all other Palace performing groups.

The Palace Theatre is dedicated to strong contributions to the Manchester community in many ways. We host several New Hampshire high schools' annual musicals, talent shows and other events as a service to the community. In addition, we offer discounted rates to many organizations and are always interested in forming partnerships with other local non-profit arts organizations. We are also proud to offer scholarships to graduating seniors who have been involved with the Palace Theatre.

Palace Theatre Ghosts:

Is the Palace Theatre haunted? According to Ghost Quest, New Hampshire’s Paranormal Research Society, the answer is a resounding “YES!”  In the summer of 2007, Ghost Quest investigated the Palace’s otherworldly residents and certified that the theatre is indeed haunted by unexplained phenomena.  The investigation uncovered several ghosts – a woman in white on the stage (see picture below), an angry man in the boiler room who communicated by moving the temperature gauge to specific settings, a man who fell over the balcony, an actress, and even a ghostly usher.  Read the details of their investigation here.

Does this figure in white waiting in the wings prove the Palace is haunted?

(Photo © Ghost Quest)