Regional Theater: The Long Wharf Theater

The Regional Theater I chose for this blog assignment is the Long Wharf Theater. It is located in New Haven Connecticut and interests me because it was a leader in the non- profit regional theater movement, has originated a good many prominent plays, and has debuted many internationally known actors.

The Long Wharf Theater opened in 1965 and opened in a vacant warehouse in a food terminal. It was founded and the first play to debut there was The Crucible, which opened for two weeks. The main theater seats were borrowed from an out of business Movie Theater, and the first year budget was $294,000 and more than 30,000 tickets were sold.

Since it’s opening more than 30 Long Wharf productions have moved to Broadway or off- Broadway productions. They have received many awards since their opening including a Tony Award, multiple Pulitzer Prizes for their original productions, New York Drama Critics circle awards, Obie Awards, and the Margo Jefferson Award. Of the thirty or so productions that have been moved to Broadway some of the most notable include Wit, The Shadow Box, American Buffalo, The Gin Game, and The Changing Room.

In 2009 The Long Wharf Theater sold over 100,000 tickets and had an annual season of six plays on two separate stages, and many children oriented workshops and special events. The Long Wharf Theater also debuted two new original plays in 2009 which were A Civil War Christmas, and Coming Home.

There is a fairly large list of actors, directors, producers, playwrights, and designers that have got their start at Long Wharf Theater and that are prominent. The list includes some such as Sam Waterston, Al Pacino, John Lithgow, Christopher Lloyd, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Richard Dreyfuss, Kelsey Grammer, William H. Macy, Kathleen Turner, Kevin Spacey, and Mia Farrow.

The order of premiers at this theater are as follows and are in order of he premiere date starting with the earliest. Sizwe Banzi is Dead, Streamers, Alphabetical Order, The Shadow Box, The Gin Game, American Buffalo (with Al Pacino), Quartermaines Terms, Let Me Down Easy, A Civil War Christmas, and Coming Home. There is an extensive list of which plays made it to Broadway and off- Broadway on the internet.

The reason this theater interests me is because it is a fairly large one and is totally non- profit. Also it was and continues to be a leader in the world of regional theaters and continues to grow and release new productions. I mean to win a Tony Award it has to be a very good theater, and have many good shows. There are many productions here that seem interesting to me including American Buffalo and A Civil War Christmas. I think it would be neat to visit this theater and catch a couple of its six plays through the season. It will also be interesting to see how this theater progresses in the future, and it will be interesting to see if it sticks to its’ non- profit group and continues to release new and exciting productions. It will also be exciting to see what new actors come out of Long Wharf, especially based on the list that have come from there.

With the way money and the economy are these days it is hard for a non- profit organization to make it. It seems like this theater has a very large and loyal patron base, therefore they shouldn’t have a hard time maintaining a budget and keeping interest in it’s’ productions. Hopefully this important theater is able to keep it’s head above water and continue to be a driving force in the theater world.