Shortly after Jill and Avram “Avie” Glazer moved to Palm Beach with their two daughters in 2002, The Royal Poinciana Playhouse closed, so the culturally minded couple never got to experience what so many other locals had—a night of great performances, right there on the island.
“People would tell us stories about how they used to go with their parents and grandparents, but we didn’t have that,” says Jill, a director for the Palm Beach Civic Association and emeritus trustee at Tulane University, her alma mater.
The Glazers knew that the 860-seat playhouse, designed by the architect John Volk, was once a glittering hot spot in the 1960s and 1970s, known for the Broadway musicals, ballets, and concerts it hosted, as well as the dinner and dancing that took place in its Celebrity Room. It attracted big-name performers like Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, and ticketholders like the Kennedys and Duke of Windsor. When the curtain closed on the venue in 2004, there were plenty of ideas for what to do with the space, but, as Avie says, not much action. The building sat unused until just before the COVID-19 pandemic, when Avie came home one day and had a heart-to-heart talk about it with Jill.
“I said to my wife, ‘You know, someone’s got to do something,’” recalls Avie, who co-owns the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and is co-chairman of the English Premier League club Manchester United F.C. “‘No one is doing anything, so it might as well be us.’ And fortunately, we were in a position where we could make something happen.”
The Glazers are putting forth more than $15 million of their own money to breathe new life into this once-iconic landmark and create the first new cultural nonprofit on the island in 60 years. After more than five years of anticipation, that venue—now known as Glazer Hall—will open in phases, with the theater expected to be ready by mid-January.
“What we did first is what we’ve done all our lives, in that we turned to experts,” Avie says. “We hired the best theater consultants, the best acoustic consultants, the best design consultants to help us understand what we needed this space to be in today’s world. A cultural arts center in 2025 is different from a playhouse in 1955. The demands are different. What people do there is different. What people expect is different. The technology is improved. We wanted to make this state-of-the-art and give everyone a first-rate viewing experience. I think we’ve been successful with that. When this opens, people are going to be thrilled with what they see.”
One of the first things patrons will see is the landmarked building’s restored Regency Revival facade. When they step inside, the next thing they’ll see is the water. In the old venue, only the celebrities could see the Intracoastal from their dressing rooms. Now almost every room has water views, including the lobby and the theater, which boasts a 50-foot-wide-by-15-foot-high window. Patrons can grab a cocktail at the full-service bar before a show or set foot on the 2,500-square-foot outdoor terrace. As nods to the past, the box office and staircase are in their original spots, and the statues that once reigned atop The Royal Poinciana Playhouse have returned to crown Glazer Hall.
“There were rumors that we weren’t keeping anything the same, but that was never, ever the case,” Jill says. “To us, those spaces were important to retain so we could have that look.”
In the 6,400-square-foot main hall, there’s a 400-seat theater with retractable seats, world-class sound and lighting, and a sound-wall partition that can divide the space. All these factors add up to create a flexible venue that can host different types of performances and social gatherings, from film screenings to lectures and musical acts. “You can see a film and the screen can go up and the artists, producer, and director can be there afterward for a talk,” Jill adds.
Renovating and rebuilding is one thing. Finding someone who can embrace and act on your vision of a best-in-class cultural and community hub is another. In June, the Glazers announced Allison Stockel—who spent more than 20 years running the Ridgefield Playhouse in Connecticut—as Glazer Hall’s executive director.
“She’s got great resources and people know her,” Jill says. “When we were meeting with some of the different dance groups we have interest in coming out and I mentioned she was joining us, [everyone] said ‘Oh, I know her.’”
In 1961, Stockel’s aunt and uncle, Sandra and Allan Jaffe, opened Preservation Hall in New Orleans, establishing it as the place to hear New Orleans jazz 365 days a year. Instead of going to summer camp, Stockel toured with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band; she recalls selling CDs and other merchandise from the stage. These childhood memories stayed with her as she worked for CNN, MTV, Time Warner, and ABC, then got married, moved to Connecticut, and became a mother of two.
“When the Ridgefield Playhouse was about to open, I wanted to go see what it was about,” she recalls. “The playhouse became my third child. Along with my two other kids, I raised it and really grew it. It was a 500-seat theater that was similar to what we will be doing at Glazer Hall, where there will be amazing acts in an intimate space. So, my background is in understanding the whole value of seeing some of these world-renowned acts in a small, intimate setting and how meaningful that can be.”
In terms of Glazer Hall’s complete 2026 lineup (which was not publicly available at press time), Stockel says to expect the full spectrum of performing arts, including all genres of music, dance, comedy, special speakers, and educational programming for schools. Some performances that have been announced are the Preservation Hall Jazz Band February 5 (complete with a preshow New Orleans–style culinary experience), singer-songwriter Judy Collins March 3, and the American Ballet Theatre January 30-31.
“Even though I ran a theater for 22 years, this is going to be a very different type of experience,” Stockel says. “The possibilities of what we can do here are even greater because of the technology we’ll have and the way the spaces are configured. When I walked into that theater for the first time, I thought, ‘Oh my God, I need to help. I need to be a part of this.’ I came out of retirement specifically for this gig.”
For those who grew up going to The Royal Poinciana Playhouse with their families, news of its impending return is cause for excitement, especially since they know how passionate the Glazers are about preservation.
“We have owned a landmark home in Palm Beach,” Jill says. “We’ve renovated 300-year-old homes. Previously, we won the [Elizabeth L. and John H.] Schuler Award for Preservation for our house that we currently live in. We care about restoration, preservation, and architecture. And I think for the town, they knew that. There are always going to be some people who aren’t going to be happy with change, but for the most part, I think people are very happy. We get emails and calls every day from people asking us to meet with them and tell them more about it and how they can get involved.”
For people who love art and culture, Stockel says there can never be enough of it, and Glazer Hall will complement the cultural venues that are already exist in the area.
“People want culture now more than they ever did,” Jill says. “They care a lot. And they’ve told us that Glazer Hall could be something that [keeps] them in town longer. They’ll no longer have to head out of town to see a show.”
It’ll be right around the corner with a waterfront view. «
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