Ramsey, who took over the debt-strapped theater in 1999 and revived it into a thriving arts hub, has announced a planned transition of leadership to Creative Director Carl Rajotte.
MANCHESTER, NH — The man credited with turning the Palace Theatre from a debt-strapped local stage into a thriving multi-venue cultural institution will step down in 2027. Peter Ramsey, President & CEO of the Palace Theatre, confirmed his retirement plans to the board last week, concluding a 27-year era that reshaped downtown Manchester’s arts and economy.
The Palace board has unanimously selected Creative Director Carl Rajotte as his successor following a year-long search, promoting him into a senior leadership role and giving the longtime creative force a two-year transition period working alongside Ramsey to assume full executive leadership.
It is the kind of careful handoff board members say a place like the Palace deserves.
Among the first to react to the news was former Manchester Mayor Sylvio Dupuis, who served on the board in the late 1990s and personally helped hire Ramsey.
“We hired Peter over 25 years ago when the big announcement in the Union Leader was that the Palace Theatre had shut down,” Dupuis said. The building had been through multiple closures, and Ramsey, who had been running a small theater in the Lakes Region, “always loved the theater” and stepped into what many thought was a nearly impossible turnaround.
Dupuis recalled that in Ramsey’s first year, the theater’s budget was only about $100,000, with only “one or two productions that just came to the Palace.” Today, the Palace operates year-round, mounts hundreds of performances, and has a financial foundation that includes a solid endowment and multiple properties.
“We’re just happy that Peter has stayed with us for so long and is willing to stay on and give us a hand as we transition,” Dupuis said.
Ramsey’s tenure rebuilt not only a theater, but a downtown identity. Under his guidance, the Palace expanded into a multi-stage and event-center organization with:
- The Rex Theatre (opened in 2019)
- The Singer Family Performing Arts Center, now under development
- Forever Emma Studios at Palace Youth Theater programs that send hundreds of teens into professional performing arts careers
- The Spotlight Room, adjacent to the theatre for internal and public events
Former Manchester mayor Bob Baines, now a Palace board member, said Ramsey’s impact is not simply artistic—it’s economic. “The Palace Theater has [as much of an economic impact] on the City of Manchester [as] the SNHU Arena,” he said, noting uptick in foot traffic, restaurant business, and special events driven by Palace audiences.
“I forget how many days a year that theatre is open, but it’s unlike any theatre in the region – they’re performing something like 300 times a year, plus with the Rex Theatre,” Baines said.
Baines called Ramsey “a good man first, and a visionary second,” noting that his leadership transformed the theater into “one of the most vibrant arts venues in the entire New England region.”
For Baines, it’s personal – both his relationship with the theater, and with Ramsey.
“When I ran for mayor, one of my lines in my inaugural address was, ‘The doors of the Palace Theater will never close again.’ It got a huge ovation,” Baines said – because the thought of losing the Palace was not an option, not to him nor to the community. “I was the first mayor to put money in the CIP budget to support the theater. I said the city has to be part of this effort.”
Before he would fight to save the Palace as mayor, Baines actually spent time on the Palace stage. “I actually danced with my daughters on the stage when they had father-daughter dances,” he said, recalling the annual recitals held there by local dance teacher Sally Zyla.
Judi Window, co-owner of Diz’s Downtown eatery – just a brisk walk from the Hanover Street Palace Theatre – reinforces Baines’ assessment, that the Palace is a huge driver of the downtown’s economic engine.
“Peter is solely responsible for making the Palace professional, it’s invaluable to our downtown area, and bringing the Rex on board just added plus-plus-plus to the environment, but as a business owner, it’s invaluable – just invaluable,” Window said.
“Reservations come in when a show is happening – especially for an opening weekend, or one of their holiday shows which are always well attended. But I’d also like to say the Palace Youth Theatre is just fabulous. We get, all summer long, people coming in after the show for lunch. And in the summer, in the city – that is crazy awesome. We love having the actors come in as well – the professional actors, but also the kids, who come in groups of 10 or 12,” Window said.
“But to me, it’s Peter who single-handedly brought the Palace to where it is today and has also developed a great staff of people we’ve really enjoyed working with over the five years we’ve been here. They’re all community-minded and and they work really hard to involve the community and support the community – even when it’s out of their genre, like for Restaurant Week,” Window said. “He’s done a good job with succession planning so that even though he’s going to step away, his legacy will live on.”
Local businessman and President of Merchant’s Automotive Group Stephen Singer, whose family recently invested in the Palace’s newest expansion, the Singer Family Performing Arts Center, agrees with Window about Ramsey’s focus on the community, and says that this retirement will be deeply felt.
“He rejuvenated the theater. It’s iconic. Without Peter, it probably wouldn’t have happened,” Singer said.
Singer described Ramsey as someone who never used art to serve himself, but always the community. He shared that Ramsey often provided the Palace for nonprofit events at little or no cost, including the annual Chanukah at the Palace fundraiser.
That first year I told him we didn’t have a ton of money to invest in the project and he basically, except for the ancillary costs, gave it to us for basically nothing,” Singer said. “That’s the type of guy Peter is. He’s about making the community a better place.”
Dupuis confirmed that the board intentionally chose to promote from within, selecting creative director Carl Rajotte, who has been with the Palace for more than two decades.
“Certainly Carl Rajotte, who has been kind of another true guy, has been around for a long time,” Dupuis said. “We decided that we would promote internally and give them a chance to work together” as work is spread across the growing organization.
Baines called Rajotte “a superstar for the Palace Theater” and the natural successor who can continue—not reinvent—the Palace’s success.
Ramsey will remain before retiring in 2027, preserving continuity during the rollout of new arts facilities and the continued expansion of youth programming. Rajotte moves into expanded leadership immediately, supported by senior staff members.
For Dupuis, despite the change at the helm, the Palace’s future is secure. Ramsey has cultivated a strong leadership team and operations are on solid footing.
“Setting a long-range plan this way gives us plenty of time.”
Singer says that the transition is bittersweet but the next chapter for Ramsey, hard-earned and well-deserved.
“He certainly has earned retirement, but he will be missed by our community.”