Long Wharf Theatre Artistic Director Gordon Edelstein has been fired following accusations of sexual misconduct.
The theater’s board of trustees met for over an hour Tuesday night and voted to terminate Edelstein effective immediately.
The decision follows a report in the New York Times in which multiple women alleged unwanted sexual contact dating back at least a decade.
Board chairwoman Laura Pappano said they have also decided to get an independent review of the theater’s policies and procedures for reporting misconduct.
Pappano, who’s been board chair since June, said they need to ensure that nothing like this happens again.
“Long Wharf is a very important part of the national regional theater landscape and people will be looking at us to see how we behave and how we handle this,” Pappano said after the board meeting. “And I think we’re all very well aware of that. And that’s part of it, we want to lead. Long Wharf has been a theater that has started and led - off and on the stage - but we’ve got to do it off the stage too.”
In a written statement Pappano said “this is a time that demands sober self-reflection and openness.”
In the meantime, Long Wharf is set for Wednesday night’s opening of a play called “Office Hour."
Pappano said the season is ready to go.
