Wilson, who is exiting after 13 years with the company to pursue new artistic opportunities, will be honored with a 7:30 PM performance at the theatre's Church Street home.

A host of actors who have performed at Hartford Stage during Wilson's tenure, and many under his direction, will return for a special farewell. They include Buckley (Cats, Triumph of Love), Ashley (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Diving the Estate), Fuller (Dividing the Estate), Foote (The Orphans' Home Cycle, Dividing the Estate), Annalee Jefferies (Bad Dates, Night of the Iguana), as well as on-stage and off-stage couples who met during their time in Hartford, including Alyssa Bresnahan and James Colby (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, A Moon for the Misbegotten), and Bill Heck and Maggie Lacey (The Orphans' Home Cycle).

Hartford Stage also promises some special surprise appearances, both live and recorded, as part of the evening that will begin with a 6:30 PM reception, followed by the 7:30 PM performance, and dessert and a champagne toast to conclude.

Wilson, who was a longtime collaborator of Academy Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Foote, commissioned the Texas-born playwright to adapt a collection of his full-length plays into The Orphans' Home Cycle. The two also collaborated on such plays as Dividing the Estate, which played Hartford following its Broadway debut, as well as The Carpetbagger's Children and The Day Emily Married. He also led the decade-long Tennessee Williams' marathon at Hartford Stage. His Broadway directorial credits also include Old Acquaintance and Enchanted April (which also originated in Hartford).

Succeeding Wilson will be Darko Tresnjak, who will take over the role of artistic director in July. For tickets, priced $75, phone (860) 527-5151 or visit hartfordstage.org.