Newsletter No. 1: September 2026
The first of a monthly-ish newsletter: demolition at 280 Blake Street, six pay-what-you-can dates in October, a costume party on the Green, and a call for hands.
This is the first issue of a newsletter we intend to send monthly-ish. It went out by email on September 22, 2026, and it lives here too, so it can be linked and read later.
We've started taking the building apart. Demolition is underway at 280 Blake Street — The Umbrella, our own building up the street, targeted to open in summer 2027. The concrete floor is coming up in sections, and the photos of what's behind the walls are worth a look. The State of Connecticut put in $250,000. It's there to be matched, and every gift is a name on the record that says New Haven still wants this.
Six dates in October, pay what you can. Revolutionary Haven: Myths of America runs six dates in October, about thirty minutes each. We suggest $17.76, because the country turns 250 next year and that's what this one is about — but pay what you can, and any amount is a real ticket. "Who gets to shape our collective truth about the founding of our nation?" asks director Rachel Alderman. It's a first draft, not a finished show, and the point is to have you in the room while we work that out. Capacity is small, and reservations release to the waitlist fifteen minutes before curtain, so reserve a time rather than turning up.
The show is in a school. It's at The Blake Street Center, 495 Blake Street, in a wing that's been sitting empty, with elevator access throughout. Ages 10 and up suggested; anyone who can be a good audience member is welcome. Access questions go to info@abrokenumbrella.org. One thing worth saying plainly: it's 495 Blake. Not 446A — that's The Stack, where our sign is and where the sets get built.
Find us on the Green Friday. We've now made two plays about New Haven apizza, so it would be strange not to show up. We're bringing the photo booth to the New Haven Green on Friday, September 25, from 4 to 10 PM, free. At six the whole Green goes for the world's largest pizza costume party. We own costumes.
We could use you. Thirty-eight people, all volunteer, ages eight to over sixty-five, put this work on. There is room for more — onstage, backstage, front of house, and in the building.
The calendar: Friday, September 25 — Apizza Feast, New Haven Green, 4 to 10 PM, costume attempt at 6. October 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, and 24 — Revolutionary Haven, The Blake Street Center, 495 Blake Street.
A Broken Umbrella Theatre is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit making original theatre in New Haven since 2008. EIN 27-0865699. P.O. Box 3285, New Haven, CT 06515.