Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater

05/20/2026

Live on screen from The Metropolitan Opera, El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego comes to WHAT next Saturday May 30 at 1:00.

Pulitzer Prize winner Gabriela Lena Frank makes her Met debut with her "spectacular" (The Times U.K.) first opera, a magical-realist portrait of Mexico’s painterly power couple Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Isabel Leonard and Carlos Álvarez star as Frida and Diego, with Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducting a new production by Deborah Colker.

Tickets are on sale now at what.org

05/14/2026

THE NARROW LAND, a new film by Jaiden van Bork, screens at WHAT Friday May 22 at 7:00 and Saturday May 23 at 3:00.

Reserve your free tickets at what.org.

05/01/2026

Join us on Friday, May 22 at 7:00 for THE NARROW LAND, a film by local filmmaker Jaiden van Bork.

** Due to popular demand, we've added a second screening on Saturday, May 23 at 3:00 **

THE NARROW LAND examines both the mythology and reality of Cape Cod, seeking to unravel the difficult questions that face the coastal community today as it confronts a barrage of overtourism and a subsequent housing crisis that has left locals scrambling to keep their feet planted in the sand. Weaving a personal chronicle of childhood on Cape Cod with the voices of local artists, fishermen, and hospitality workers, the film channels the eerie realities of small town America, posing new questions about identity and memory.

Jaiden Ramona van Bork (she/her) grew up on Cape Cod and will graduate from Brandeis University’s Film, Television, and Interactive Media program in May of 2026. As a journalist, she has written for publications like Provincetown Magazine and Brookline.News, in addition to a brief stint as editor-in-chief of The Truro Tent, a newspaper which she developed for Payomet Performing Arts Center. Her work in film routinely focuses on overlooked groups, forgotten places, and the making of myth in American culture.

Tickets are free, and reservations are highly recommended. Visit what.org to reserve your seats.

04/24/2026

The Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD continues at WHAT next Saturday, May 2 with Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin.

Following her acclaimed 2024 company debut in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, soprano Asmik Grigorian returns to the Met as Tatiana, the lovestruck young heroine in this ardent operatic adaptation of Pushkin. Baritone Iurii Samoilov makes his company role debut as the urbane Onegin, who realizes his affection for her all too late. The Met’s evocative production, directed by Tony Award–nominee Deborah Warner, “offers a beautifully detailed reading of … Tchaikovsky’s lyrical romance” (The Telegraph).

Tickets are available at what.org.

04/23/2026

April 23rd is believed to be the date of William Shakespeare's birth in 1564, and death in 1616. To commemorate, we're throwing it back to productions of, and inspired by, Shakepeare's work on the Julie Harris Stage.

A Midsummer Night's Dream (2016) a co-production with Peregrine Theatre Ensemble

Romeo and Juliet (2017) a co-production with Psittacus Productions

Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus (2022) by Taylor Mac

The Complete Work of William Shakespeare (Abridged) (2023) by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield

production photos by Michael & Suz Karchmer

04/22/2026

Recovery isn't just about what we leave behind, it's about what we create moving forward.

Join us on Sunday May 3 at 3:00 for SECOND ACT, STORIES OF RECOVERY AND RESILIENCE, an afternoon of story sharing by participants in our Second Act program. Second Act harnesses the transformative power of theater to support individuals in recovery from substance use disorders. Over the past six months, participants worked with recovery coaches and theater artists to craft original monologues drawn from their lived experience to demonstrate the power of creativity in recovery.

04/20/2026

It's 4/20 and we're throwing it back to our 2024 production of RE**ER MADNESS, THE MUSICAL!

"An over the top theatrical punch that delights from beginning to end" - Provincetown Magazine

"... you'll leave the theater riding an absolute high" - Cape Cod Chronicle

"... the two-hour high that you won’t regret the next day" - Cape Cod Times

(pictured: Kyle Becker, Jody O'Neil ,and Brittany Rolfs in Re**er Madness, The Musical, photo: Michael & Suz Karchmer)

04/20/2026

It's 4/20 and we're throwing it back to our 2024 production of RE**ER MADNESS, THE MUSICAL!

"An over the top theatrical punch that delights from beginning to end" - Provincetown Magazine

"... you'll leave the theater riding an absolute high" - Cape Cod Chronicle

"... the two-hour high that you won’t regret the next day" - Cape Cod Times

(pictured: Jody O'Neil and the cast of Re**er Madness, The Musical, photo: Michael & Suz Karchmer)

04/17/2026

04/15/2026

Dear friends,

We have made the difficult, but necessary decision to cancel our planned 2026 summer season and suspend regular operations effective June 1, 2026. Since re-opening from the pandemic closure in 2021, we have faced steadily rising costs in an increasingly challenging philanthropic environment. The professional non-profit regional theater model is built on a healthy balance of both ticketing and contributed income. For WHAT, like many organizations across the country, this model has proven unsustainable.

We recognize how disappointing this decision will be for many of you. We are proud to be a summer tradition, a cultural leader, and to serve as a community gathering place throughout the year. We are grateful for everyone who has joined us for a performance, made a contribution, or spent some time with us over the past 42 years. We hope that this will be a brief intermission while we work to set the stage for WHAT and The Julie Harris Stage’s next act.

All scheduled events in April and May will continue as planned, along with Payomet Performing Arts Center’s circus camp and circus performances this summer.

– The trustees, staff, and artists of WHAT