THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING Featuring Kathleen Chalfant & More Set for Long Wharf Theatre 2023/24 Season

Long Wharf Theatre is launching its 2023/2024 season, Theatre of Possibility. The season marks the first complete lineup under the new production model, embedding the cherished theatre into the fabric of New Haven with performances across local venues. 

The theatre’s groundbreaking programming opens in September with the return of Black Trans Women at the Center led by Dane Figueroa Edidi, featuring a live-streamed festival of short plays highlighting LGBTQIA and BIPOC stories and a post-performance panel with the writers, directors and dramaturg. The fourth-annual virtual festival will premiere on September 28 and stream through October 1.

In November, the theatre will present an innovative production of The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion, featuring award-winning actress Kathleen Chalfant and conceived and directed by Jonathan Silverstein. Long Wharf Theatre will partner with the New York City-based Keen Company to take the adaptation of Didion’s deeply personal memoir into the living rooms of local residents and community spaces, creating an intimate, one-of-a-kind experience for theatre-goers. Through new partnerships, Long Wharf Theatre will further the connection between the arts and the community to reach audiences at venues such as library branches, partner arts organizations and local retail businesses. 

“Since the announcement of our new model last year, Long Wharf Theatre continues the work of building on our past as the bridge to our future. We are building with the community, forging new partnerships, and hoping to redefine what’s possible for an American regional theatre,” said Jacob G. Padrón, Artistic Director of Long Wharf Theatre. “We can’t wait to share this next season with our audiences and look forward to welcoming theatergoers to a variety of venues across Greater New Haven.” 

The theatre is also embarking on its first partnership with TheaterWorks Hartford, offering members a chance to see Sanctuary City, written by Pulitzer-Prize winner Martyna Majok. Long Wharf’s Artistic Director, Jacob G. Padrón will co-direct the production alongside film-maker Pedro Bermúdez to tell the compelling, timely story of two teenagers, young DREAMers fighting to establish a place for themselves in America. The play will run March 29 through April 22.

The theatre will announce two additional productions as part of the 2023-2024 season in the coming weeks. 

In recognition of its efforts to redefine regional theatre, Long Wharf Theatre recently received a $15,000 federal grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to be used for its new play development work. 

“Long Wharf Theatre has been a vibrant, important cornerstone in the New Haven region for generations, and as our community evolves, we’re eager to reconnect with our current audiences while also reaching new audiences through this model,” said Kit Ingui, Managing Director of Long Wharf Theatre. “This season’s productions speak to the imaginative and bold vision that we aim to integrate in all of our programming efforts and partnerships.” 

“The Year of Magical Thinking is a fine and fierce guide to living with love and loss written by one of the best writers of American prose,” said Kathleen Chalfant, award-winning actress. “It is a privilege to inhabit and share this world with the Long Wharf audience. I’m so happy to be back here.”

“Long Wharf Theatre is a cultural pioneer and its resilience reflects the spirit of the people of New Haven and our region,” said Adriane Jefferson, Director of Cultural Affairs for New Haven. “This upcoming season will spark joy and ignite conversation in every corner of our city. Our theaters and cultural institutions need us now more than ever, and I look forward to joining my fellow New Haveners in supporting Long Wharf as they embark on this journey.”

“Keen Company is thrilled to be partnering with Long Wharf Theatre to present our acclaimed production of Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking starring the incomparable Kathleen Chalfant,” said Jonathan Silverstein, Artistic Director, Keen Company. “This production, told intimately in living rooms and community centers, is a one of a kind event that allows audiences to uniquely connect with Didion’s moving story and Chalfant’s virtuosic performance. We cannot wait to share this unforgettable experience with the audiences of New Haven this fall.”

Tickets for The Year of Magical Thinking will go on sale for Long Wharf Members on Monday, July 31 and for everyone on Thursday, August 3. Information on membership can be found at longwharf.org/membership/.

About Keen Company

Keen Company is a Drama Desk and Obie Award-winning Off-Broadway company creating theater that connects. In intimate productions of plays and musicals, we 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 our Keen Playwrights Lab and mentors students from all five boroughs of NYC through our Keen Teens education program. In everything we do, Keen Company thrives through our welcoming ethos and community commitments. You’re invited to learn more at www.keencompany.org or connect @keencompany.

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