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Theatre in a Food Term
8,000
Or How a Professional Theatre with
Subscribers Happened in New Haven
By Elizabeth Bushnell Kubler
Excerpted from the Smith Alumnae
Quarterly, Winter 1966
Long Wharf Theatre is the creation
of Jon Jory and Harlan Kleiman, who
met in the Yale Graduate School and
found they shared the same hopes
and ideas. When they first mentioned
their dream of starting a resident
professional theatre in New Haven,
shrieks of horror and derision were
voiced by numerous skeptics. “You’re
out of your minds!” “How will you
ever finance it?” . . . “It’s too near New
York.” . . . “We’ve already got the
Shubert Theatre and the Yale Drama
School.” etc. Well, starting on Labor
Day and laboring continuously, they
hatched a theatre in little more than
nine months’ time with the help of an
ardent, enthusiastic group of citizens
who spent untold, unsung, unnumbered
hours to facilitate the delivery of this,
the 28th resident professional theatre
in the United States, to the waiting
public of greater New Haven and
surrounding communities.
Both Jon Jory and Harlan Kleiman
had long theatrical backgrounds
which had helped them organize and
operate a successful summer theatre
at Clinton, Connecticut in 1964. After
studying population, traffic flow, and
average income they realized that New
Haven was the logical, adequate, and
desirable location for a new resident
professional theatre. Bolstered by
their convictions and a few words
of encouragement, they dove in,
beginning an intensive drive to infect
alive and responsive people with their
enthusiasm and consistently refusing
to be discouraged by adverse or
pessimistic comments.
In November friends were found who
offered the use of a large ballroom
for an initial meeting, to which about
80 people of varying persuasions and
interests were invited. Fifty or more
came, and the two future directors
began the first of a long series of spiels
that became known as the “Gallagher
and Sheehan Act,” telling of their
hopes for a theatre where good plays
well produced would be available
at modest prices. They planned that
a traveling company would go to
the high schools with scenes from
comedies through the ages. There
would be a special program of plays
for children. Special efforts would
be made to bring underprivileged or
handicapped young and older citizens
to the theatre or to take the theatre to
them. There would be Wednesday and
Thursday performances of the regular
shows open to students at reduced
rates. On certain nights there would
be discussions after the final curtain,
to allow the audience the chance
to question and converse with the
directors and the actors. A newsletter
would be sent to subscribers to keep
them informed of theatre activities.
Of the fifty at the initial meeting, about
ten volunteered to be on a steering
committee, whose function was to
tell of this new theatre to its potential
audience, and to ask for financial
backing. Teas, coffees, suppers,
lunches — even breakfasts — were
arranged in order to explain the ideas
and hopes for this theatre. The more
widely the news could be spread the
better. Days and nights were spent
compiling a list of people who were
known to be interested in the arts.
A preliminary goal of $30,000 in
pledges was set, but as interest grew,
over $80,000 was promised, so the
steering committee and the twin
entrepreneurs were able to move into
the next phase.
Enthusiasm mounted steadily, but
the problem of a site was more and
more crucial. So many things had
to be considered—convenience of
location, parking facilities, and costs
of rebuilding in rented quarters.
One possibility after another was
considered and ruled out.
When things looked very bleak, a ray
of hope shone unexpectedly from the
direction of the Food Terminal in the
Long Wharf redevelopment area. Six
sections of the western wharf were
still unrented, so if the Board would
consider the possibility of such a
location . . . ? The Board did. The
Long Wharf Theatre sounded fine,
and unlimited parking space offset the
slight inconvenience of the location.
Early efforts to find an old movie
house or other suitable stage faltered.
By happenstance, however, Newton
Schenck, secretary of the Food
Terminal, was also a member of the
Theatre’s steering committee, and
brought to the group the fact that five
market units in the meat building
and meetings was that the office—
the borrowed office of an early
sympathizer who had an extra space—
began to overflow. The two small
adjacent rooms held three telephones,
four desks, all the paper goods and
printed material, a coffee percolator,
one paid secretary, a procession
The Food Terminal’s President Jim
of helping hands, out-of-town and
Lamberti and Vice-president Babe
local visitors, applicants for jobs and
Gordon took leadership and in time
aspiring actors, curious members of
even joined the Board of the Theatre.
the future audience, and an occasional
The group, with its architect, George
stray dog. Sometimes it was so
Cash, developed a plan for a novel
crowded that everyone had to stand
thrust stage within a horseshoe of
up to work. Whenever a particularly
tiered seats for 450 at an estimated
cost of $70,000. With the enthusiastic exciting thing happened, like the day
the steel arrived for the work at the
support of Mayor Richard Lee and
Theatre, or the day the second-hand
his staff, the Food Terminal obtained
seats arrived from an old movie house
a special exception to its limited BE
in New Jersey (to be stored at Long
zoning to permit the theatre use on a
“temporary” basis, temporary because Wharf), or the day a big local bank
it was thought that in time the Theatre, agreed to permit customers to charge
Long Wharf Theatre subscriptions, a
if successful, could be relocated
special sort of frenzy would break out.
downtown.
Wild gestures and dancing. Knockedover stacks of envelopes and upset
Since the initial construction cost
coffee.
of $70,000 had to be doubled for
equipment, lights, seats, etc., and
Many hands were soiled with paint
since the untried dramatic experiment
and stain; some chiseled old chewing
had to be totally funded through
community giving, the Food Terminal gum off of the ancient seat bottoms;
some stitched black backdrops; some
gave a major boost through a $20,000
arranged donated plants for the gala
credit with the contractor in order to
opening; some refinished chair arms
generate the rent it needed.
and backs with a donated magic
finish; some stenciled numbers on
In launching such an enterprise,
seats, aisles, and rows. Anyone who
gatherings of people are essential. It
appeared was put to work—dirty
was often possible for Jon and Harlan
work.
to address pre-fabricated assemblies
of listeners like Rotary, Lions,
By July 4th, somehow, everything
Masons, Chambers of Commerce,
was pretty well finished. Even the
etc. The ultimate and much-hoped
air-conditioning was working. Arthur
for result of all of these talks, parties,
had been released for rent. With the
happy precedent of London’s Covent
Garden Theatre in its market district,
the idea was nourished by the acute
needs of the Terminal for rent and of
the Theatre for a home.
Miller’s The Crucible opened for two
weeks, followed by Brendan Behan’s
Hostage, then Rick Besoyan’s Little
Mary Sunshine, and the summer
season windup was Peter Shaffer’s
twin one-acts Private Ear and Public
Eye.
Almost every night chairs had
to be put in for the overflow of
customers. In fact, there were only
23 unsubscribed seats for the summer
season. This has been commented on
as a minor miracle for a new theatre.
Nobody seemed to mind the rather
stark interior, the 440 battered seats,
and the bleak aspect of the lobby,
adorned for the summer with one
giant rubber tree on loan, and a long
gay banner announcing each play.
Our young directors can well be proud
of what they have brought to New
Haven. We New Haveners are proud
of what we have helped to happen.
Long may it continue to give pleasure
and enlightenment to young and old.
“A Theatre in a Food Terminal?”
Well, what’s wrong with it? It works!