Life (and family dynamics) can change forever in the proverbial “blink of an eye,” sometimes resulting in extraordinary joy, sometimes in absolute devastation or sometimes both. This is at the heart of “Napoli, Brooklyn,” a world premiere play focused on the women of the Italian-American Muscolino family following a horrific 1960 mid-air collision over New York City. A co-production with the Roundabout Theatre Company of New York, the Meghan Kennedy drama will debut Thursday, Feb. 16, at Long Wharf Theatre’s mainstage in New Haven and runs through March 12.

Directed by Gordon Edelstein, the plot revolves around Friday, Dec. 16, 1960, when a United Airlines Douglas DC-8, bound for Idlewild Airport (since renamed John F. Kennedy International) collided in midair with a TWA Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation on its approach into LaGuardia Airport. The TWA plane crashed on Staten Island, while the United plane slammed into Park Slope, Brooklyn, at the intersection of Seventh Avenue and Sterling Place. Killed were all 128 people on both aircraft and six people on the ground (all in Park Slope). At the time, it was the largest air disaster in history.