Celebrating 60 Years of Long Wharf Theatre

Dear All -  
 
60 years! That’s the birthday we’re celebrating.  
 
To reach 60 years, roughly 21,900 days, is an incredible milestone for any company, let alone for a company dedicated to telling stories and putting the world on stage for you, our audience. After all, there is no theatre without a group of people willing to sit together in a dark space, and bear witness to the action as it unfolds. That’s the power of theatre – the way it transports us by activating our senses, opening our hearts, and stirring our imaginations.   
 
The story of Long Wharf Theatre is one of innovation and possibility. What began as a seed of an idea in 1965, when our company was founded, grew to include hundreds of celebrated productions that helped redefine the American theatre. We have turned a “page” by embracing a new producing model that activates the many “stages” across our region, like the space you’re in tonight, and the magic of what Long Wharf Theatre can do is still ever present. By bringing theatre into the community, we proudly proclaim that Long Wharf Theatre belongs to the people —all people— wherever they are. The stage is wide enough to hold all our stories.  
 
I am humbled and proud that Long Wharf Theatre’s daily work is being celebrated by theatre-makers across the country. We have always been a theatre out in front and, in a city known for innovation, New Haven is the right home for the path-breaking future that we are manifesting together. We are building on a long history of creative ingenuity, fueled by your belief in our work. The theatre we make right here, in this community, is made for you. I hope you feel that intentionality with this musical, She Loves Me, our first production as we mark 60 years.   
 
She Loves Me is a love story through and through. And it’s also a story about a community of working-class people, each searching for hope and connection during a dark time in 1930s Budapest. As Georg says to Sipos, “I’m just a very ordinary clerk, in a very ordinary shop.” The people we journey with in this musical are longing for something more—a better job, a deeper relationship, a perfect love. In this vision of She Loves Me, my hope is that you feel the humanity of these characters through the music—a lush soundtrack for their lives. With our intimate setting and simple design, please lean in; you’ll see parts of yourself in this perfume shop, too.  
 
Creating a musical on any scale is only possible thanks to visionary collaborators. My deepest gratitude to our luminous cast, our gifted musicians, our brilliant designers, our stellar production crew, our intrepid stage management team, and the entire staff of Long Wharf Theatre who make all our work possible. And a special thanks to our partner Erik Clemons and his entire team here at The Lab at ConnCORP for opening their doors to Long Wharf Theatre and for supporting our vision so fully.  
 
I believe in the power and promise of theatre; I hope you do, too. Together, we renew our commitment, every day, that theatre is for everyone. May this production of She Loves Me be a testimony to that invitation for the next 60 years.  
 
Warmly yours,  

Jacob G. Padrón  
Artistic Director