Invitation to Engage: 60 Years of Long Wharf Theatre & BeyondExhibition Opening at New Haven Museum

Luis Moreno in Pride and Prejudice, Long Wharf 2019 Production Photo credit: T. Charles Erickson Photo

New Haven, Conn. (May 16, 2025) Theater fans, rejoice! An immersive multi-gallery exhibition—featuring a collection of costumes, posters, and rare archival treasures—is bringing the vibrant history of Long Wharf Theatre to life. “Invitation to Engage: 60 Years of Long Wharf Theatre & Beyond” showcases a “who’s who” of stage royalty including Rita Moreno, Colman Domingo, Al Pacino, Frances McDormand, Anna Deavere Smith, Steve Martin, Jessica Tandy and many more. The exhibition opens at the New Haven Museum (NHM) at 5:30 p.m. on May 21, 2025. The exhibition will remain on view through February 2026.

Spanning three museum spaces—the New Haven Museum’s elegant upper rotunda, its gray and center galleries—“Invitation to Engage” invites visitors to step inside six decades of theatrical history. Visitors will try on costumes, explore immersive set recreations, flip through original scripts, and experience interactive rehearsal spaces alongside a gallery spotlighting the next generation of Long Wharf Theatre artists.

Dozens of original production photos, programs, and archival treasures take center stage in the rotunda. Long Wharf Theatre Chief of Staff Jessica Durdock Moreno, serving as project manager of the exhibition, takes a “deep dive” into the context, relevance, and enduring resonance of seminal productions—from 1965 to today.

In the NHM gray gallery, visitors will discover a reconstructed rehearsal room, where they are invited to handle props, try on costumes from past Long Wharf Theatre productions, and view Long Wharf Theatre’s Tony Award.

The center gallery focuses on the current 60th anniversary season. Visitors can step into the world of “El Coquí Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom” and create their own stories. Inspired by this season’s theme, “Building Our Future Together,” guests can also craft their own artwork and add it to the gallery wall.

“When we began shaping this exhibition, we wanted to do more than just look back—we wanted to create something that feels alive,” says Moreno. “Every script, every photo, carries a story. This is a chance to honor the artists and audiences who built this legacy, while also inviting our community to imagine what comes next.”

Exhibition highlights include:

• Over 100 enlarged production photos spanning from 1965 to today.

• Never-before-seen photographs from production rehearsals.

• Autographed show posters featuring A-list performers.

• Original, hand-painted set-design renderings.

• Rehearsal scripts, costume and prop bibles, and stage manager binders from Anna Deavere Smith's “Let Me Down Easy” and the Pulitzer Prize winning “Wit.”

• Programs from the inaugural summer season.

• A handwritten inaugural subscription ledger.

• Displays from the costume stock, including “Pride and Prejudice” and “El Coquí Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom.”

• Audio clips from artist interviews, videos of special projects, and more.

Since 2023, Long Wharf Theatre has pioneered a new model—presenting work in 26 venues across seven cities. “No longer confined to a single stage, the company is expanding its reach, transforming unexpected locations into places of performance, and bringing theatre to audiences where they are,” says Artistic Director Jacob G. Padrón. He adds that the interactive exhibition reflects Long Wharf Theatre’s bold evolution. “Invitation to Engage” honors six decades of transformative theatre-making while casting a bold vision for the road ahead.”

“We’re delighted to celebrate this milestone with Long Wharf Theatre,” says New Haven Museum Executive Director Margaret Anne Tockarshewsky. “This exhibition is more than a retrospective; it’s a bridge connecting the past, present, and future of one of New Haven’s most influential cultural institutions. It reminds us how theatre can reflect our world, challenge us, and bring us together.”

Coordinating the exhibition at New Haven Museum is Jason Bischoff-Wurstle, director of the museum’s photo archives. “It's been wonderful to welcome Long Wharf Theatre to the New Haven Museum,” he says. “Through daily collaboration with their incredible team, this exhibit offers a vast and intimate look at the legacy of a true New Haven icon and a pillar of American regional theater.”

In addition to the exhibition, Long Wharf Theatre will offer a robust slate of community events throughout New Haven from workshops and readings to parties, pop-ups, and virtual programming—culminating in a mobile museum experience that will bring the story to neighborhoods across the city.