On February 23, 2022, the Long Wharf Theatre, located in New Haven, CT announced that it would be leaving its longtime home at 222 Sargent Drive near the New Haven harbor in the fall of 2023. Founded in 1965 by Jon Jory and Harlan Kleiman, Long Wharf was committed to the creation of new works and the reexamination of classic plays. It is currently led by Artistic Director Jacob G. Padrón and Managing Director Kit Ingui.
More than 30 Long Wharf productions have been transferred to Broadway or Off-Broadway, including Durango, Wit (winner of a Pulitzer Prize), The Shadow Box (Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award/Best Play winner), Hughie, American Buffalo, Requiem for a Heavyweight, Quartermaine’s Terms (Obie Award winner for best play), The Gin Game (Pulitzer Prize winner), The Changing Room, The Contractor, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, Satchmo at the Waldorf, and Streamers.
It has been a very trying time for many theaters over the last two years with closures due to the pandemic. Many are in serious financial straits. While many theaters aren’t tied to a permanent home, almost all regional theaters do have a home base theater. It is a shame that this long established, and very storied theater, has to give up its home of nearly six decades and become itinerant. We wish the Long Wharf Theatre company all the best moving forward and look forward to its next act.
Here is the statement from the theater’s Board of Directors on this move:
Today, the Board of Directors of Long Wharf Theatre announced plans to lead a growing movement to re-envision a new American theatre. The next chapter of the iconic organization will focus on a commitment to artists, collaborators, and the communities they serve. The cornerstone of this vision is a new, itinerant production model that will prioritize equity, accessibility, and transparency, guided by three core pillars: revolutionary partnerships, artistic innovation, and radical inclusion.
Beginning in fall of 2023–following an in-depth, community-driven strategic planning phase–the new model will enable Long Wharf Theatre productions to be presented throughout Greater New Haven, embedding the company within the City, and no longer anchoring performances to the Theatre’s current space.
Realized in phases over the next several years, the culmination of this process will be a reimagined Long Wharf Theatre campus that could include a theatre hub as well as a network of partner venues and organizations throughout the city filled with new productions, readings, and community programs.
Long Wharf Theatre, like many regional theaters across the country, has had to balance artistic innovation and the desire for deeper community engagement with the ever-increasing costs of maintaining physical venues, a model that has failed to evolve alongside the shifting landscape. Long Wharf Theatre will break this cycle and marshal its resources to become a catalyst for community-wide connection, conversation, and growth. Funding that will help support this new vision includes generous commitments from its Board, donors, and cash reserves. In addition, Long Wharf Theatre’s ongoing work and programming is supported with grants from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
“I am honored to share this new vision that will meet the needs of a changing cultural landscape in pursuit of a more inclusive, emergent, and boundary-breaking new American theatre,” said Jacob G. Padrón, Artistic Director of Long Wharf Theatre. “Theatre belongs to the community and should reflect the world we live in today–from the makeup of the Board to the artisans working onstage and off. This new model will allow us to build on the best parts of our celebrated past as the bridge to a visionary future, to truly be a place for everyone.”
“At its core, Long Wharf Theatre is about the artists, audiences and collaborators who make us what we are, not a specific space or venue,” said Kit Ingui, Managing Director of Long Wharf Theatre. “We are energized and excited by this change and look forward to spending the coming months meeting with those who have supported and encouraged us as a theatre company of the 21st century.”
“Long Wharf Theatre has always been a place of creative innovation, and the past two years have provided a unique opportunity to reflect, regroup, and reimagine,” said Nancy Alexander, Board Chair. “As the trailblazing poet and playwright Luis Alfaro said at our inaugural Artistic Congress, ‘The great pause has become the great possibility,’ and Jacob and Kit’s leadership and vision–closely held by the entire Board–are critical to fully realizing the great potential of this moment and making theatre for everyone.”
“In difficult times, art is what elevates and connects us. This moment invites performing arts organizations to move beyond business as usual and invest in new business models that are values driven and sustainable,” said Maurine Knighton, Program Director for the Arts, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. “We applaud Long Wharf Theatre for accepting that invitation in a way that honors both its artistic integrity and its commitments to community. This evolution can serve as a model for others, and we support Long Wharf Theatre as it undertakes this historic endeavor.”
“For almost six decades, Long Wharf Theatre’s productions have helped us to know ourselves as individuals and to come together as a community,” said Will Ginsberg, President and CEO of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. “In these times of sweeping change, our community is changing dramatically too. I applaud Long Wharf Theatre for envisioning a new model for its work that will reflect and serve our community in new ways.”
Embracing Long Wharf Theatre’s roots as a revolutionary and trusted community partner
Long Wharf Theatre was founded with the mission of providing a world class theatre firmly rooted in New Haven. This new model allows the Theatre to be more intentional and strengthen its commitment to centering and enriching the city’s–and surrounding region’s–creative community.
By partnering with local organizations and institutions, making meaningful efforts to engage with every part of the community and incubating local talent into nationally recognized productions and works, the Theatre has developed as a regional, and national, leader, and will continue initiatives such as:
- One City Many Stages, piloted for the 2020/2021 season, focuses on accessibility, responsiveness to current events, the amplification of lived experiences, and a renewed commitment to incubating new works
- New Haven Play Project, an initiative supported by Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art that builds community by spotlighting the life experiences of the Elm City’s Muslim residents
- Play on My Block, a production created by, for, and with New Haven residents in public spaces throughout the Elm City
- Artistic Congress for the People, a convening of local and national artists, artistic decision-makers, and institutional leaders to build a more equitable and accessible American theatre
“I am proud that the humble theatre we opened nearly 60 years ago has grown to be a national force where hundreds of the country’s top talents have appeared,” said Jon Jory, Co-Founder of Long Wharf Theatre. “Innovation is always crucial to first-rate work and this new vision will maintain the Theatre’s position as a powerful center for creativity and community.”
“Since its inception, Long Wharf Theatre has been an anchor of New Haven’s cultural ecosystem,” said Adriane Jefferson, Director of Cultural Affairs for New Haven. “This new vision is a continuation of the spirit in which the organization was founded, as a means to harness the artistry, vibrancy and talent of our city, for our city. With this new direction, the Theatre is not losing a home, but rather expanding their community and their reach.”
A deepened commitment to artistic innovation
Long Wharf Theatre’s commitment to the creation of new work will continue to be a driving force, assessing the needs of each artistic project and working with partner organizations to find the best presenting venue. The Theatre will be an unparalleled hub for creative excellence and an artistic home for a new generation of great storytellers. Examples of programming Long Wharf Theatre will continue to invest in include:
- Dynamic and fully staged productions of new and classic plays and musicals
- New play commissioning and development, seeding a new canon of American plays and musicals for future production, including new work by Guadalís Del Carmen, Ricardo Pérez González, Raja Feather Kelly, Bryce Pinkham, Madeline Sayet and Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel, Ruth Tang, and the artistic collective UNIVERSES (Steven Sapp and Mildred Ruiz-Sapp), among others.
- The LAB@LWT, a collaboration between artists and Long Wharf Theatre, providing month-long residencies to local and national artists while giving audiences a glimpse into the new play development process and an opportunity to explore and interrogate the New Haven arts scene
- Play Club, a member-only event that fosters conversations about scripts with Long Wharf Theatre’s artistic staff
- Artistic Ensemble, a collective of local and national theatre-makers who support Long Wharf Theatre with their guidance and good counsel while receiving resources to develop their newest ideas for the stage
Further information from Long Wharf Theatre: 
