AUGUST WILSON CELEBRATION
- Sep 16 2025 - Jun 15 2026, 7:00pm
Event description
In recognition of the 80th anniversary of August Wilson’s birth, Long Wharf Theatre is hosting a citywide celebration in partnership with The City of New Haven throughout their 2025-2026 season. They will be collaborating with multiple organizations to create a season of offerings that celebrate Wilson’s artistry and legacy. The celebration will include community events, workshops, panels, and a Long Wharf Theatre production of August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean. The larger celebration will reach a diverse range of Greater New Haven residents who might be experiencing Wilson’s work for the first time or revisiting it after many years.
What to expect at this show
Age guidance
Open to all ages
Pricing
Buy from
Partners
City of New Haven
New Haven Free Public Library
Creative Arts Workshop
Elements of Abundance
New Haven Museum
Yale Schwarzman Center
Yale Beinecke Library
Southern Connecticut State University
Long Wharf Theatre is pleased to be in deep partnership with Southern Connecticut State University.
The Lab at ConnCORP
Orchid Cafe at ConnCAT
W.A.B. Performing Arts Studio & Conservatory
The Word
New Haven Public Schools
Shubert Theater
Upcoming Events
August Wilson Celebration + EveryBody Dances with Alaman Diadhiou
Hosted by Yale Schwarzman Center
Sunday, April 12th – 11:00 am-12:30 pm (doors at 10:30 am)
The Dance Studio, Yale Schwarzman Center (lower level), 168 Grove Street, New Haven, CT 06511
Ages 15 +
Registration: Opening soon via the YSC EveryBody Dances website (HERE)
EveryBody Dances @ Yale Schwarzman Center brings local and visiting dance artists to our Dance Studio to teach masterclasses in jazz, hip hop, salsa, modern, contemporary, precision dance and more! All community members are welcome. This week's class will be led by Alaman Diadhiou '23 with an introduction by Yale Assistant Professor of English and Black Studies Jonathan Howard.
This class will feature introductory technique, vocabulary, and history of tap dance as it evolved across the 20th century into the African American art form we know today. In honor of August Wilson's Century Cycle and Long Wharf Theatre's production of Gem of the Ocean, we will explore the rhythmic vernacular dance that grew alongside the eras depicted in Wilson's work. Tap shoes are not required but hard sole shoes are encouraged!
This edition of EveryBody Dances is presented as part of Long Wharf Theatre's August Wilson Celebration. .
August Wilson Celebration + The Ground We Stand On: Protecting the Work
Hosted by W.A.B. Performing Arts Studio & Conservatory
Saturday, April 25th – 10:00 am-12:00 pm
New Haven Free Public Library – Stetson Branch
197 Dixwell Avenue, New Haven, CT 06511
Ages 15 + (with anyone under the age of 18 needing to add their parent's information to the registration form)
Registration linked (HERE)
In partnership with W.A.B. Performing Arts Studio & Conservatory
Grounded in the legacy of August Wilson, this workshop honors the door he opened for us to walk through as ourselves. Wilson showed us that our stories do not need translation or permission. We intend to protect that truth—to create work that is honest, grounded, and in conversation with our lived Black experience.
Participants will engage with selected monologues and scenes from Wilson’s work, paying attention to what resonates: conflict, memory, silence, humor, survival. We’ll ask: What connects us to this language? Where does it live in our bodies? What wants to be spoken now? From there, we’ll break into small groups to write and bring a scene to life—either one created collectively or one drawn from Wilson’s canon.
Each participant will be invited to integrate a line from August Wilson into their own piece, using it as a point of entry rather than a boundary. Our goal is to move freely through conversation, writing, embodiment, and performance—without rigid structure or over-intellectualizing. This is a space for the work.
*Please note: this event takes place in a Black affinity space curated specifically for attendees who identify as Black. If you do not identify as Black, please join the August Wilson Celebration at the many other events throughout the city and season.
August Wilson Celebration: Film Series - The Ground On Which I Stand
Hosted by the Shubert Theatre
Wednesday, May 6th – 6:00 pm
Elm City's Cabaret at the Shubert Theater
247 College Street, New Haven, CT
Registration linked (HERE)
In partnership with the Shubert Theater
As part of Long Wharf Theatre’s August Wilson Celebration, join us at the Shubert Theatre for an evening celebrating the legacy of August Wilson.
The Shubert will host a special documentary screening of August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand -- the acclaimed PBS documentary exploring Wilson's life, work, and transformative legacy in American theatre.
Now on Display at Creative Arts Workshop
Celebrating August Wilson: 100 Years of Storytelling
Hosted by Creative Arts Workshop, in partnership with Yale Beinecke Library
Creative Arts Workshop
80 Audubon Street, New Haven, CT 06510
Free and open to the public
All ages
No registration required
As part of Creative Arts Workshops’ annual Black History Month exhibition, this intimate display features several newly printed photographs of August Wilson from the Yale Beinecke archive, including select pages from the original manuscript of August Wilson’s Fences.
Learn more (here)
Past Events
In partnership with the New Haven Museum
On October 25, 2025, Long Wharf Theatre’s August Wilson Celebration Kick-Off Party spotlighted our upcoming production of August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean while honoring the community partners and programs that made this season-long celebration possible.
Guests joined us at the New Haven Museum for an unforgettable afternoon of performance, conversation, and community as we launched a season dedicated to the legacy of August Wilson and the power of his storytelling.
In partnership with The Word and the New Haven Free Public Library, Stetson Branch
On November 1, 2025, we partnered with The Word and the Stetson Branch library for a screening of August Wilson's Fences. The screening was followed by a creative workshop led by Teaching Artist Tarishi Shuler and CT Youth Poet Laureate Anna Capelle, and additional performances by CT Youth Slam team members Journey Rosa, Tazz, and Ac!d.
In partnership with the New Haven Free Public Library, Wilson Branch
On November 25, 2025, Long Wharf Theatre joined the Wilson Branch for a special screening of August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand—the acclaimed PBS documentary exploring Wilson’s life, work, and transformative legacy in American theatre.
In partnership with the New Haven Free Public Library, Fair Haven Branch
On December 11, 2025, Long Wharf Theatre joined the Fair Haven Branch for a special screening of August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand—the acclaimed PBS documentary exploring Wilson’s life, work, and transformative legacy in American theatre.
On February 4, 2026, Long Wharf Theatre opened up Play Club—usually a members-only event—to the full community. Participants dove into August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson, exploring its legacy, themes, and artistry together. Led by our Director of Producing & New Work, Kate Moore Heaney, Play Club is our virtual “book club” for plays, where we gather monthly to discuss works ranging from archival treasures to scripts on the horizon. For this special session, theatre lovers joined from the comfort of home for a conversation centered on August Wilson’s work.
In partnership with the Yale Beinecke Library
On February 19, 2026, Long Wharf Theatre in partnership with the Beinecke Library, displayed special collections materials connected to the work of August Wilson, including production files, photographs, promotional materials, notes, and more.
On March 3, 2026, Dr. Jonathan Howard, Assistant Professor of Black Studies and English at Yale University, led a post-show conversation with the audience attending the performance of August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean. An August Wilson scholar, Howard has researched and written extensively on Gem of the Ocean. This post-show conversation deepened the audience’s experience and understanding of Wilson's work.