Manchester Citizen of the Year, Peter Ramsey, was honored last night by the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce in a state of the times presentation that they filmed and streamed with their production partner StudioLab with Events United. The event was streamed on YouTube to a live and active audience of some 200 remote viewers who were able to chat and share in real time during the streaming.
Peter Ramsey is president and CEO of the Palace Theatres. All told, the Palace Theatres now encompass Forever Emma Studios, The Spotlight Room, The Rex & the venerable 1914 vintage Palace Theatre itself. The Manchester Chamber of Commerce creatively used the occasion as a fundraising opportunity to help support the re-opening of the Palace Theatre. More than $8,000 was raised by the end of the evening’s program.
Welcome to another chapter of change driven by pandemic. Yet, as theater, the staging of the event came across smooth and fairly well choreographed. The backstage work, the integration of pre-recorded clips congratulating Ramsey on this well-earned and well-deserved recognition, went seamlessly as one would expect from a theater performance. Only a few transitions reflected the discomfort of the presenter but their discomfort or need to point out the unique nature of the situation was unnecessary. We’ve all been in various stages of quarantine for nearly four months and so, as a remote audience, we get it. What was great was that, just like show business itself, the show must go on and it did in a concise 40 minute presentation that can be viewed here.
The message of the evening came through loud and clear. Good people doing great things in our community deserve attention and recognition. The Palace Theatre has survived the pandemic of 1918, two world wars and many years of neglect. It takes vision and strong leadership to bring a place, a venue, to achieve that status of cultural centerpiece it has become. And so, to see Peter Ramsey in his trademark white jacket sitting on stage with Chamber President Mike Skelton was a delight.
Peter has put his heart and soul into bringing a wide range of live performances to life in the city. More than 200 days a year-worth. He took lead responsibility for reviving the Palace theatre starting in 2001. With a strong team and many willing partnerships, he brought The Rex into the fold in October 2019 just in time to give us a taste of more upcoming possibilities.
Said Manchester mayor, Joyce Craig, “Although it [this event] looks and feels a little different this year, it’s great to take some time to celebrate the good things happening in our city and to honor the incomparable Peter Ramsey. Through hard work, determination and commitment, he transformed what was once a shuttered theatre into one of the region’s premier live performance venues. His passion and desire to make Manchester better is unmatched.”
The many video congratulatory messages and streaming side chat for signed-in viewers may very well be the wave of the future of meetings. The upside of creative workarounds using technology is that companies and organizations can now reach a broader audience than just those who might normally be in the room. Arts are important and as long time Palace board member Lucia Merritt noted, Peter “understands the business of theatre. He turns lemons into lemonade because he has the courage of trying.”
It was important for the Citizen of the Year event to take place and be openly broadcast. The Palace has just begun re-opening for performances with strict attention to recommended guidelines. As it cautiously works its way back, we all regain a sense of normalcy even if it remains the new normal for a while.
Senator Lou D’Allesandro sent his “congrats to the man in the white coat, no one is more deserving of citizen of the year than the beautiful and talented Peter Ramsey.”
And so we end with:
Bravo Peter Ramsey!
With your large and growing team of neighbors, helpers, cheerleaders and supporters…
…we look forward to the encore.
If desired: You can make a donation to the Palace Theatre re-opening fund here.
This article has been edited to correctly list the recognition event filming and streaming location as Studio Lab in Derry NH.
