Long Wharf Theatre Announces Venues for Spring Productions
Partnerships with the City of New Haven and Yale University will transform iconic gathering spaces into inventive performances under the theatre’s new production model
New Haven, CT – Long Wharf Theatre (Artistic Director Jacob G. Padrón and Managing Director Kit Ingui) today announced the venues for spring productions of Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge and Adil Mansoor’s Amm(i)gone. Both productions and the cross-sector partnerships are part of Long Wharf Theatre’s 2023/2024 season, Theatre of Possibility – embedding the cherished theatre into the fabric of New Haven and redefining traditional theatrical experiences to engage all audiences.
“We’re beyond grateful for the partnership of organizations across New Haven that believe in the power of making theatre more accessible and creating meaningful experiences for our diverse audiences,” said Jacob G. Padrón, Artistic Director of Long Wharf Theatre. “Embarking on these two productions with public sector and higher education collaborations only exemplifies the joy of community, art and connection, and we can’t wait for our audiences to experience the stories in such special locations.”
A bold new production of Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge, directed by James Dean Palmer and produced in association with Douglas Denoff and Myah Shein, will open at the iconic Canal Dock Boathouse on February 10 and run through March 10. The Boathouse, traditionally used to bring waterfront activities to New Haven’s many communities, will be transformed to bring the story to life. With its sweeping views of the New Haven waterfront and the iconic Q Bridge, the space evokes the Brooklyn waterfront where Miller’s timeless story takes place. Casting will be announced soon.
“Long Wharf Theatre continually strives to create boundary-breaking theatrical experiences,” said Kit Ingui, Managing Director of Long Wharf Theatre. “Presenting plays in reimagined, local spaces strengthens our connections with partners and allows audiences to experience their neighborhood and the stories we tell in exciting new ways.”
Long Wharf Theatre worked closely with Adriane Jefferson, Director of Cultural Affairs for New Haven, Carlos Eyzaguirre, Deputy Economic Development Administrator for the City of New Haven, the Board of Alders, led by President Tyisha Walker-Myers and city leadership to secure the Boathouse location and foster opportunities for future partnership.
Long Wharf Theatre is partnering with Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and Kelly Strayhorn Theater to bring their production of Adil Mansoor’s Amm(i)gone, to the Theater and Performance Studies Black Box at Yale University located at 53 Wall Street in New Haven from May 28 through June 23, 2024. The space provides a fully accessible, flexible design and underscores Long Wharf Theatre’s commitment to partnering with civic and education communities.
The productions demonstrate Long Wharf Theatre’s commitment to evolving alongside a shifting landscape while prioritizing artistic excellence and audience engagement. By partnering with a network of local civic, cultural and public institutions, Long Wharf Theatre is maximizing its resources to become a catalyst for city-wide connection.
“Long Wharf Theatre is a shining example of the resilience, innovation and dedication to craft that exists in the people of New Haven and our region,” said Adriane Jefferson, Director of Cultural Affairs for New Haven. “Our cultural institutions are a vibrant part of our city that deserve our unending support, and I look forward to joining my fellow New Haveners to engage with Long Wharf Theatre’s upcoming performances.”
A View from the Bridge marks a return of Arthur Miller’s work to Long Wharf Theatre, which began its historic journey in 1965 with his The Crucible. In 1950s Brooklyn, longshoreman Eddie Carbone harbors a subconscious and jealous affection for his niece, Catherine, whom he is raising with his wife. When distant cousins arrive unexpectedly from Italy and one of them falls for Catherine, Eddie takes drastic measures to protect his fragile American Dream. Deeply relevant, A View From The Bridge wrestles with truths about family, the complexities of how we assimilate and, ultimately, how we view ourselves as Americans.
In Amm(i)gone, creator and performer Adil Mansoor brings us on his deeply personal journey to translate and adapt the play Antigone with his Ammi (mother). Despite the deep love between them, their relationship is strained – Ammi struggles to accept Adil’s queerness and turns towards her faith in an attempt to save her son in the afterlife. Adil turns to an ancient Greek theatrical text to break the silence between them. Through Greek tragedy, teachings from the Quran and audio conversations in Urdu and English, Mansoor and co-director Lyam B. Gabel create a theatrical blend of lecture and personal story about locating love across faith.
Long Wharf Theatre opened its 2023/2024 season with the fourth annual festival Black Trans Women at the Center followed by a sold out production of Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking, which – in partnership with the New York City-based Keen Company – takes the adaptation of Didion’s deeply personal memoir into living rooms and public gathering spaces to create an intimate, one-of-a-kind experience for theatre-goers.
Long Wharf Theatre is consistently recognized for its pioneering efforts to redefine regional theatre, with Artistic Director Jacob G. Padrón recently honored as Person of the Year by the National Theatre Conference, a non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for the industry and engaging with impactful theatre leaders. Padron joins the ranks of previous honorees, including August Wilson (2010), Lynn Nottage (2013) and Joseph Papp (1969).
“Long Wharf Theatre is a cornerstone institution in New Haven that continues to serve and bring joy to our diverse community for nearly 60 years,” said Carlos Eyzaguirre, Deputy Economic Development Administrator for the City of New Haven. “As they embark on this new journey, it’s critical that we intentionally support and uplift their efforts across the region. We are particularly excited to see our world-renowned Theatre formalize a partnership with one of the Long Wharf District’s newest public assets, the Canal Dock Boathouse, which is a key component of the City’s ongoing community-driven revitalization of its waterfront.”
Tickets for A View from the Bridge and Amm(i)gone are on sale for Long Wharf Theatre Members today at longwharf.org/programming/ and for everyone on December 6. Information on Membership can be found at longwharf.org/membership/. The box office is available via phone at (203) 693-1486 Monday through Friday from 12pm-5pm.
About Our Creative Partners
Keen Company (producing partner, The Year of Magical Thinking)
Keen Company is a Drama Desk- and Obie Award-winning Off-Broadway company creating theater that connects. In intimate productions of plays and musicals, Keen Company celebrate the complexities of hope and the joys of the human condition. In recent seasons, Keen has brought to the New York City stage: Crumbs from the Table of Joy by Lynn Nottage (first NY Revival), The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion (first NY Revival), This Space Between Us by Peter Gil-Sheridan (World Premiere), Blues for an Alabama Sky by Pearl Cleage (NY Premiere), Molly Sweeney by Brian Friel, Surely Goodness and Mercy by Chisa Hutchinson (NY Premiere), Ordinary Days by Adam Gwon (first NY Revival, Drama League Nomination), Tick, Tick…BOOM! by Jonathan Larson (first NY Revival, Drama Desk Nomination), and a reimagined version of Marry Me a Little by Stephen Sondheim (Drama League Nomination). Keen also fosters mid-career playwrights through its Keen Playwrights Lab and mentors students from all five boroughs of NYC through its Keen Teens education program. In everything it does, Keen Company thrives through its welcoming ethos and community commitments. You’re invited to learn more at www.keencompany.org or connect @keencompany.
Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (producing partner, Amm(i)gone)
The Tony Award®-winning Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company creates badass theatre that highlights the stunning, challenging, and tremendous complexity of our world. For over 40 years, Woolly has maintained a high standard of artistic rigor while simultaneously daring to take risks, innovate, and push beyond perceived boundaries. One of the few remaining theatres in the country to maintain a company of artists, Woolly serves an essential research and development role within the American theatre. Their premiere plays have gone on to productions at hundreds of theatres all over the world and have lasting impacts on the field. Currently co-led by Artistic Director Maria Manuela Goyanes and Managing Director Kimberly E. Douglas, Woolly is located in Washington, DC, equidistant from the Capitol and The White House. This unique location influences Woolly’s investment in actively working towards an equitable, participatory, and creative democracy.
Woolly Mammoth stands upon occupied, unceded territory: the ancestral homeland of the Nacotchtank whose descendants belong to the Piscataway peoples. Furthermore, the foundation of this city, and most of the original buildings in Washington, DC, were funded by the sale of enslaved people of African descent and built by their hands.
About Kelly Strayhorn Theater (producing partner, Amm(i)gone)
Named after 20th century entertainment legends Gene Kelly and Billy Strayhorn, both natives of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Kelly Strayhorn Theater (KST) is a home for creative experimentation, community dialogue, and collective action rooted in the liberation of Black and queer people. We welcome our home to all who uplift Black, Indigenous, people of color, and queer voices.
KST is an institutional arts anchor in Pittsburgh’s East End that has served the community for decades. Since launching KST Presents programming in 2008, KST has been Black-led, fostering radical imagination for Black and queer arts, culture, and community in Pittsburgh by cultivating BIPOC and/or queer artists, entrepreneurs, and arts administrators, developing their careers, and shifting narratives around Black possibility.
About Douglas Denoff (producing partner, A View from the Bridge)
Douglas Denoff is an eight-time Tony-nominated theatre producer.
Recent Broadway productions as co-producer include Lorraine Hansberry’s The Sign In Sidney Brustein’s Window, Take Me Out, Slave Play, Sea Wall/A Life, Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song (2018 revival), American Son, John Leguizamo’s Latin History For Morons, Fiddler On The Roof (2015 revival), Pretty Woman (Broadway/Tour/UK), Nice Work If You Can Get It, and The 39 Steps both as co-producer on the original three-year Broadway run and lead producer for its 2015 revival in New York. He hopes to bring The 39 Steps back to New York in 2024 because “it’s time to start laughing again.” He was lead producer of The Lucky Star by Karen Hartman, directed by Noah Himmelstein at 59E59 Theatres, which is anticipated to transfer to Broadway in the 2024-25 season.
Denoff is developing several new plays including Interview by Teunkie van der Sluijs, The History of Love by Emily Maltby, and Lulu, a immersive new adaptation by Andi Villa Stover based on the plays Earth Spirit and Pandora’s Box by Frank Wedekind (Spring Awakening).
Upcoming musicals as lead producer include That’s Broadway, The Moves, The Music, The Magic, a celebration of Broadway’s greatest song and dance numbers, a Broadway revival of Ain’t Misbehavin’, and a the hilarious revival of The Pirates of Penzance, directed by John Rando and choreographed by Joshua Bergasse, and the first revival of the beloved musical since 1982. suttonsquareentertainment.com
About Myah Shein (producing partner, A View from the Bridge)
Myah Shein is a dance and theatre artist from Chicago and directs her own production company MSJP Creatives. MSJP has produced work by Drew Pisarra, DE-CRUIT, and Waterwell/Professional Performing Arts School, and developed works by James Palmer, Patricia Black, and Chana Porter. As a producer with The Coop Theater and Film, projects included Terra Firma, The Snakes (Official Selection, Brooklyn Short Film Festival, Pan African Film Festival, American Black Film Festival) and Such a Shitty Time. Select choreography credits include productions at Folger Theater, Asolo Rep, Trinity Rep, NYU and Alexandra Beller/Dances. She is founding artistic ensemble member of Red Tape Theatre Company, where she choreographed, performed in and produced nearly 40 projects, including the annual Chicago Fringe Artist Networking Night. She was nominated for a Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Choreography for The Love of the Nightingale (Joseph Jefferson Award winner, Best Production). She has a background in arts marketing and served as the Marketing Director at Red Tape, Interim Director Marketing at Trinity Rep, Marketing Consultant for Greater Boston Stage Company and currently serves as the Managing Director for Simons Marketing.
Land Acknowledgment
Long Wharf Theatre sits on the unceded territory of the Paugusset, Quinnipiac, and Wappinger peoples. We acknowledge that Indigenous peoples and nations have for generations stewarded the lands and waterways of what we now call the state of Connecticut. We honor and respect the enduring relationship that exists between these peoples and nations and this land. We remind ourselves that along with stolen land came stolen people. It is our responsibility to the future to know our past.
Media Contacts
Henry Robins
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Jali Griesbach
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