The Mattatuck Museum announces the opening of two “red carpet” exhibitions on Saturday, November 22, 2014 with a reception from 5:00-6:30 p.m. PALACE THEATER: A Staged Reflection, 1922-2014 relates the history of Waterbury’s Palace Theater from its inception and glory days through an economic downturn and falling into ruin to its resurrection and reinvigoration 10 years ago. OUTTAKES: bleacher and everard photography features photographs drawn from the team’s extensive portfolio of internationally known celebrities.
PALACE THEATER, on view through February 1, 2015 provides a history of the theater’s major eras, illustrating with photographs its decline and stunning comeback.
In 1922, Sylvester Z. Poli built his flagship theater in Waterbury at a cost of one million dollars. It was an architectural marvel and combined many architectural styles under one roof. For many years, vaudeville shows and film were projected in the theater. It later became primarily a movie house and over time started to decline.
A local businessman and entrepreneur, Dominic Temporale, purchased the aging theater and infused new life into it by running rock concerts there for many years. As the building continued to show its age, the concerts stopped and various efforts were made to raise money to renovate the structure. In 2000, a plan was devise to perform a major renovation that included the Palace Theater along with the University of Connecticut, and the Waterbury Arts Magnet School.
In 2004, renovations to the Palace were completed and the curtain rose on a new era in its history. Tony Bennett, who was the last performer before it had closed in 1987, was the first performer when it reopened. Since then, it has been a successful venue primarily for live performances, concerts and nationally recognized speakers.
The exhibit includes a timeline of historic milestones dating from the theater’s 1922 opening and features photographs, documents, ephemera, historical objects, excerpts from oral history interviews and personal stories.
Katie Bleacher and Dean Everard are the artists behind OUTTAKES, on view through January 25, 2015. This New York City based photography team specializes in celebrity, editorial and commercial corporate assignments. With a wide variety of jobs ranging from covers of magazines to advertising campaigns, Katie and Dean collaborate with some of the top designers and creative directors in the industry. For more than 20 years, they have captured the likenesses of legendary and prominent people. They have photographed numerous icons from the film, television and fashion worlds including Bradley Cooper, Ethan Hawke, Milla Jovavich and Susan Sarandon among others.
When it comes to celebrities, people often wonder why it is they are famous or even interesting. Why they are on the front cover of magazines and why do we care? It’s only natural that we’re interested in what those in the top layers of the social strata are doing or wearing or saying. Katie and Dean’s portrait photographs define the 21st century and reveal the lifes and interests of the public. Interestingly, Katie and Dean do not identify which images were shot by the one or other.
The Mattatuck Museum will celebrate the exhibition openings with a “dress to impress” red carpet reception followed by dinner prepared by Riverhouse Catering. The reception is free and open to the public and dinner is $40 per plate. Advanced registration is required for dinner and may be made online at mattatuckmuseum.org or by calling (203) 753-0381 x123.
The Mattatuck is offering community programs in conjunction with this exhibition. For details on these and other events, visit mattatuckmuseum.org/events. Join the museum to immediately qualify for member benefits.
Visit mattatuckmuseum.org or call (203) 753-0381 for more information on all of the museum’s adult and children’s programs, events and exhibits. The Mattatuck Museum is operated with support from the Connecticut Department of Economic & Community Development, CT Office of the Arts which also receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, and is a member of the Connecticut Art Trail, a group of 18 world-class museums and historic sites (arttrail.org). Located at 144 West Main Street, on the green in Waterbury, CT the museum is open Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday noon to 5 p.m. Convenient, free parking is located behind the Museum in any of the lots on Park Place.