The theatre has staged world premieres by Samuel D. Hunter, Craig Lucas, Steve Martin, Paula Vogel, Athol Fugard, and Anna Deavere Smith, among others.

In addition, some of the nation’s leading actors, including Sam Waterston, Stacy Keach, Brian Dennehy, Al Pacino, Karen Allen, Colleen Dewhurst, Judith Ivey, Jane Alexander, Reg E. Cathey, Mary McDonnell, and Anna Deavere Smith, have performed on one of the theatre’s two stages.

In 2022, Long Wharf announced plans to leave its longtime venue and become an itinerant New Haven theater company.

Long Wharf Theatre was founded by Jon Jory, Harlan Kleiman, Ruth Lord, Betty Kubler, and Newt Schenck in 1965[1] when Arthur Miller's The Crucible opened for a two-week engagement.

Named after the Long Wharf in New Haven Harbor, the theatre was built in a vacant warehouse in a food terminal.