Venue: Long Wharf Theatre
Town: New Haven, US

Long Wharf Theatre is a nonprofit institution in New Haven, Connecticut, a pioneer in the not-for-profit regional theatre movement, the originator of several prominent plays, and a venue where many internationally known actors have appeared. Founded in 1965, the theatre is 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. The theatre has staged world premieres by Samuel D. Hunter, Craig Lucas, Steve Martin, Paula Vogel, Athol Fugard, and Anna Deavere Smith, among others. In addition, some of the nation's leading actors, including Sam Waterston, Stacy Keach, Brian Dennehy, Al Pacino, Karen Allen, Colleen Dewhurst, Judith Ivey, Jane Alexander, Reg E. Cathey, Mary McDonnell, and Anna Deavere Smith, have performed on one of the theatre's two stages. In 2022, Long Wharf announced plans to leave its longtime venue and become an itinerant New Haven theater company. Long Wharf Theatre was founded by Jon Jory, Harlan Kleiman, Ruth Lord, Betty Kubler, and Newt Schenck in 1965 when Arthur Miller's The Crucible opened for a two-week engagement. Named after the Long Wharf in New Haven Harbor, the theatre was built in a vacant warehouse in a food terminal. The main stage seats were borrowed from a defunct movie house. The budget for the first year was $294,000, when more than 30,000 tickets were sold. Arvin Brown and Edgar Rosenblum led the theater for the next three decades. Doug Hughes later succeeded Brown as artistic director for four seasons. Gordon Edelstein, previously the artistic director of ACT Theatre in Seattle for five years, became Long Wharf's artistic director on July 1, 2002; he had been Long Wharf's associate artistic director intermittently before. Gordon Edelstein was fired by Long Wharf's board in January 2018 because of accusations of sexual misconduct. After a search process Jacob G. Padrón became the new artistic director in November 2018.