Letters

It was Bay Street Theater’s hope that 2023 would see the launch of a campaign to support the generous development plans of “Friends of Bay Street,” which had acquired 22 Long Island Avenue in the heart of Sag Harbor’s business district with an eye toward securing a permanent home for the theater and ensuring its stability for the next generation.

Now, if that growth is to eventually take place, it will no longer be accomplished with Friends of Bay Street, as the property at 22 Long Island Avenue has been placed on the real estate market.

While this is not the outcome we had hoped for, the core mission of Bay Street Theater has never been limited to bricks and mortar. Rather, we remain focused on the ability to bring world-class performing arts to the East End while serving as a vibrant and dynamic cultural center for the community.

We are grateful that our lease has been renewed at our current location for five years and the role we have played for over three decades will continue.

But there remains a need for Bay Street Theater to secure its future beyond our present lease, as well as to expand. In order to continue to meet the needs of artistic visionaries, to provide adequate space for education programs, and to offer opportunities for our community and regional partners to showcase their creative artistry, Bay Street must find a way to grow beyond its current physical limitations. We must therefore continue to explore options for Bay Street’s future.

As we look back at Bay Street’s 32-year history in Sag Harbor, we remain proud of the many productions that premiered or were developed at Bay Street and that subsequently moved to Off-Broadway, Broadway, or other regional theaters and abroad. These are among the reasons why Bay Street has been cited by media outlets as “one of the country’s preeminent regional theaters” and “in the same league with the best major regional and Off-Broadway theaters.”

Bay Street Theater continues to serve as a beacon for the performing arts, a social and cultural gathering place, an educational resource, a center for innovation and new work development, and an ever-expanding home for an exciting community of artists. That vision is more important to our community than ever before in these increasingly challenging times.

The curtain has already gone up for 2023. We invite the community to take part in all that Bay Street Theater has to offer this year, and to support its future here in Sag Harbor. Your seat awaits you.

Tracy Mitchell

Executive Director

Scott Schwartz

Artistic Director

Bay Street Theater

Sag Harbor