More than 20 years after it closed, the historic Royal Poinciana Playhouse in Palm Beach has reopened under a new name — Glazer Hall — following a lengthy and at times contentious rebuilding process.
Avie and Jill Glazer, the longtime Palm Beach residents who will operate the landmarked venue and helped finance its revival, spoke to the Palm Beach Daily News before the Jan. 22 debut that featured the Amazing Acrobats of Shanghai Circus.
“We moved here in 2002, and the playhouse closed before we ever had a chance to experience it,” Jill Glazer said. “To finally see it coming back to life after all these years is incredibly meaningful.”
The developer overseeing the playhouse’s transformation has controlled the building since 2014 and spent years searching for an operator for the venue before choosing the Glazers.
Samantha David, president of the Massachusetts-based WS Development, said the couple’s commitment to redeveloping the playhouse aligns with their vision for the venue’s role in Palm Beach.
The Royal Poinciana Playhouse, designed by noted architect John L. Volk, debuted in 1958 and once hosted Broadway plays, ballets and musical performances — a legacy the Glazers are now working to revive.
“Together, Jill and Avie are creating a space that will enrich Palm Beach’s arts and culture while bringing the community together for generations to come,” David told the Daily News in March 2025. “We remain exceptionally grateful for their contribution and commitment to such an enormous endeavor.”
On Jan. 3, the building immediately south of Glazer Hall — the former Celebrity Room, a popular spot for patrons of the old playhouse — opened as Tutto Mare, an upscale waterfront restaurant.
Glazer Hall, at 70 Royal Poinciana Way, is Palm Beach’s first new nonprofit arts organization in more than 60 years.
It is designed to serve multiple roles, hosting year-round performances, educational outreach initiatives and community programming, while featuring a fully configurable 400-seat theater, state-of-the-art audiovisual systems, expansive Intracoastal views and private event spaces.
The inaugural performance lineup includes singer Corinne Bailey Rae, the American Ballet Theatre and Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Judy Collins.
In a conversation with the Daily News, the Glazers spoke about their decision to become stewards of the venue, why its restoration matters to Palm Beach, and their vision for its future.
What motivated you to take on the responsibility of reopening the Royal Poinciana Playhouse — now Glazer Hall — after so many years of uncertainty?
Jill Glazer: Avie came home one night — pre-COVID, so it was like 2019 — and we were driving over and looking at the playhouse, and he said we should do something about it. It had been sitting there for this long, and no one was doing it.
Avie Glazer: For 20 years, it just sat vacant. People had these schemes and plans, which there was no money behind, or they wanted to build condos there, and there were lawsuits flying back and forth. People had just forgotten about it. They took it for granted. There was this vacant building with generators and air conditioning ducts on the outside that no one cared about. So I came home one day, and I said that someone should do something about it, and it might as well be us. That’s seven years ago, and now here we are today.
The rebuilding process was lengthy and, at times, contentious. How did that history shape your approach to restoring the venue and defining its future role in Palm Beach?
JG: When you’re starting it, you don’t know what you want. We wanted it to be as active as it could in different ways. We didn’t know what people wanted to see or do. We wanted to make it a state-of-the-art space and be as flexible as it can be and innovative. It’s not going to be everything for everyone. It’s a 400-seat theater. It’s a different experience than you have at the Kravis (Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach). We’re not competitive with anyone. We want it to be a place for all, for the community.
Glazer Hall is the first new nonprofit arts organization in Palm Beach in more than 60 years. What gap do you hope it fills in the town’s cultural landscape?
AG: Palm Beach today is a very different community than it was five years ago. People are coming there, and they expect arts, they expect culture, they expect theater, they expect dance, and we’re hoping to provide it.
How did you balance preserving the playhouse’s landmarked history with the need to create a modern, flexible performance space?
JG: The outdoors looks like what it did, but with a nicer, more modern gateway into Palm Beach. The front façade, shutters and fly tower were all built back exactly the same. With the interior, we kept a lot of the profiles with the moldings. They were saved from the original building and recreated.
Everybody who has come in says it still has the spirit of the original playhouse, just modernized. What we call the John Volk steps at the entry were rebuilt exactly the way they were. We think we have been true to the original.
The Royal Poinciana Plaza has been amazing with their stewardship of this and wanting to do it. There were a lot of people upset with them, but look at what they did and what it looks like right now. People are so excited with what’s going on. Change is hard for everyone.
As longtime Palm Beach residents and investors in the project, what does stewardship of this venue mean to you personally?
JG: It’s bringing something back to the community. It’s not about us. It’s about the community. We made it a 501(c)(3), so we’re not getting anything out of it except the joy of doing it. People have all been members and are supporting it in all different ways. We’re grateful to everyone, because it’s the more, the merrier. We’re happy to share it with folks.
The inaugural season spans music, dance and international performances. What guided your programming choices for the debut year?
JG: What we’re hearing, through emails, texts and in person, is that people really appreciate the variety. They’re not going to come to everything, but they can find something that interests them. Some people have bought tickets to nearly every show, others to 10 or 15 performances, and some may just come to one. This is the first season, so it will grow into what people want and like.
Looking ahead 10 or 20 years, how would you like Palm Beach to think about Glazer Hall’s place in the town’s cultural life?
AG: I hope it enhances the community. I hope everyone enjoys it, and I hope people think it’s an integral part of the community, that they can’t remember a time when it wasn’t here.
JG: It takes everyone to run it. It takes philanthropy. It takes the whole thing, so we’re grateful. It is, and will continue to be, a place that people want to come.
For information on Glazer Hall or to purchase tickets to an upcoming show, visit GlazerHall.org.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Palm Beach’s historic Royal Poinciana Playhouse reopens as Glazer Hall
Reporting by Jodie Wagner, Palm Beach Daily News / Palm Beach Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
