Long Wharf Theatre Returns to the Canal Dock Boathouse with August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean

Press release

Long Wharf Theatre Returns to the Canal Dock Boathouse with August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean
Written by August Wilson
Directed by Cheyenne Barboza
Runs February 27 – March 15, 2026
The Canal Dock Boathouse

New Haven, Conn. — Long Wharf Theatre returns to the waterfront with August Wilson’s landmark play Gem of the Ocean, running February 27 through March 15, 2026, at the Canal Dock Boathouse. Following Long Wharf Theatre’s acclaimed transformation of the Boathouse for A View from the Bridge in 2024, this production continues Long Wharf Theatre’s model of activating spaces that support powerful storytelling, ensuring that theatre remains locally rooted, radically accessible, and built in deep partnership with the city it serves. As the final large-scale production of Long Wharf Theatre’s 61st “We’re Still Here” Season, this play embodies the theatre company’s mission of creating theatre with, by, and for the people of New Haven.
August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean anchors Long Wharf Theatre’s citywide August Wilson Celebration, a season-long initiative developed in partnership with the City of New Haven to honor Wilson’s artistry, legacy, and connection to the local cultural landscape. Built with a wide range of community collaborators, events have included free public activations across the city, including programming at all five branches of the New Haven Free Public Library and a Kick-Off at the New Haven Museum, with additional offerings continuing throughout the spring. These efforts emphasize Wilson’s enduring impact on American theatre and the resonance his work holds for Black communities, artists, and audiences in New Haven and beyond.
“August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean is an invitation for the New Haven community,” said Jacob G. Padrón, Artistic Director of Long Wharf Theatre. “This play asks us to confront history and move toward healing through the journey of Wilson’s characters. By staging this epic story at the Canal Dock Boathouse, we meet audiences in a shared
space where themes of ancestral memory, justice, and spiritual transcendence push us to collectively reflect on the transformative power of storytelling.”
This production continues a meaningful artistic lineage at Long Wharf Theatre. Terrence T.R. Riggins, who returns to the Long Wharf Theatre stage as Solly Two Kings in this production, previously wrote and performed Unbecoming Tragedy: A Ritual Journey Toward Destiny, a Long Wharf Theatre and Collective Consciousness Theatre co-production last season (2025-2025) exploring Riggins’ life, artistry, and influence of August Wilson on his work. This creative thread carries forward with the return of director Cheyenne Barboza, who helmed Unbecoming Tragedy, alongside several creative collaborators from that production, including scenic designer Omid Akbari and lighting designer Joseph X. Fonseca, showcasing Long Wharf Theatre’s continued commitment to culturally grounded storytelling that roots itself in national impact and local roots.
“This production represents the transformative model Long Wharf Theatre continues to build,” said Meredith Suttles, Managing Director of Long Wharf Theatre. “This practice of theatremaking, where theatre is not confined to one building but woven into the cultural fabric of the city, deepens our mission of theatre for everyone. Our partnership with New Haven, our August Wilson Celebration programming, and the return to the Canal Dock Boathouse all reflect our belief that access, community, and artistic excellence belong together.”
The production features an acclaimed ensemble with Broadway, Off-Broadway, television, film, and major regional credits including Mike Boland (The Blacklist, Broadway Tour: West Side Story), Denise Burse (Black Mirror, House of Payne), Bjorn DuPaty (Broadway: Thoughts of a Colored Man, Off-Broadway: A Raisin in the Sun), Matthew Elam (Fargo, Ironheart), Grace Porter (Madam Secretary, Blue Bloods), Terrence T.R. Riggins (The Mountaintop, Unbecoming Tragedy), and Thomas Silcott (This Is Us, Broadway: Buena Vista Social Club).
The creative team for August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean includes Omid Akbari (Set Design), Toni-Leslie James and Travis Chinick (Costume Design), Joseph X. Fonseca (Lighting Design), Chris Felix (Composer & Sound Design), Matthew Armentrout (Hair & Wig Design), Dr. Hanan Hameen, Ed.D. (Fight & Intimacy Director), Steve Driffin (Assistant Director), and Andrew Petrick-Knoll (Production Stage Manager). Casting by Erica A. Hart, CSA.

ABOUT AUGUST WILSON’S GEM OF THE OCEAN:
Dates & time: February 27 - March 15, 2026
Location: Canal Dock Boathouse (475 Long Wharf Dr, New Haven, CT 06511) Runtime: 2 hours, 45 minutes with a 15-minute intermission
Price: $50, College Students $15, SCSU Students $10, and K–12 Students Free, with Pay-What-You-Wish previews from February 27-March 4.
Set in 1904 Pittsburgh, August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean begins at the home of Aunt Ester, a 285-year-old spiritual healer and former slave believed to carry the memory of the African diaspora. When Citizen Barlow, a newcomer from the South, arrives haunted by guilt, Aunt Ester sends him on a spiritual journey to the mythical City of Bones to confront his past and ancestry. As the community wrestles with protest, injustice, and the cost of resistance, Citizen must choose the legacy he’ll carry forward. The first in The American Century Cycle and a landmark play, August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean is a lyrical story of reckoning and the path to freedom.
Tickets can be purchased online at longwharf.org or by calling the box office at 203-693-1486.