O’Neill Theater Center Begins
Leadership Transition

Waterford CT, May 9, 2026 – Tom Viertel, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, today announced a leadership transition in the management of the 39-year-old theater center. Howard Sherman, Executive Director of The O’Neill since 2000, is stepping away from day-to-day management of The O’Neill and its programs, handing over the reins to interim manager Robert Wildman. Sherman will remain with The O’Neill on a consulting basis through the summer, while the board undertakes a full executive search.

“I’m very proud of what we’ve been able to achieve at The O’Neill over the past several years,” said Sherman. “We’ve raised the Center’s profile both locally and nationally, implemented significant improvements to the physical plant, fostered greater communication between our multiple programs, and continued The O’Neill’s remarkable tradition of developing new works and new artists for the theater.

“In that process, as the board and I learned more about the inner workings of The O’Neill,” continued Sherman, “I took on essential tasks which had the effect of taking me away from the process of making theater, which had been very present in every position I’ve held prior to this one. I am stepping down from the role of Executive Director, but continuing my association with The O’Neill, so that I can pursue opportunities which reunite me with the producing process.”

Viertel commented, “The board and I are very sorry to lose Howard, who has done so much for The O’Neill, and deeply appreciative of the excellent and selfless work he’s done in so many areas. We wish him well as he pursues other avenues in theater and are delighted with his willingness to work with us through the transition, to everyone’s benefit.”

Viertel continued, “We’re fortunate to have secured the services of Robert Wildman to step in for the next few months, to insure continuity in The O’Neill’s management, as we search for a new executive director, whom we expect to have in place in the fall.” The consulting firm of Albert Hall & Associates has been engaged to undertake the search process.

“With the O’Neill Playwrights, Music Theater, and Puppetry Conferences coming up over the next few months,” said Wildman, “it’s an exciting time to be at The O’Neill. I’m delighted and honored to have been invited to work with the O’Neill staff, Tom Viertel and the board, and Howard during this time of institutional transition.”

Robert Wildman was most recently Managing Director of the Connecticut Repertory Theatre at the University of Connecticut, a post he held for seven years. Prior to CRT, Wildman was head of Marketing and Public Relations for both the Long Wharf and Yale Repertory Theatres. A graduate of Stanford University and the Yale School of Drama’s Theatre Management Program, he teaches in the graduate program in arts administration at Goucher College.

The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, founded in 1964 and based in Waterford CT, is a learning community dedicated to advancing the American Theater through programs that encourage creative excellence and develop diverse voices and new work. These include the Puppetry Conference (June 2 � 15) Playwrights Conference (June 23 � July 20), Critics Institute (July 8 � 20), Music Theater Conference (July 28 � August 10) and the National Theater Institute, a college-accredited training program for theater artists. The O’Neill also owns and operates the Monte Cristo Cottage, childhood home of America’s only Nobel Prize-winning playwright, Eugene O’Neill, and holds an annual celebration honoring the life and works of its namesake every October.