VENUS IN FUR by David Ives

About the Show

VENUS IN FUR
A Play By David Ives

Thomas, a beleaguered playwright-director, is desperate to find an actress to play Vanda, the female lead in his adaptation of the classic sadomasochistic tale Venus in Fur. Into his empty audition room walks a vulgar and equally desperate actress, oddly enough, named Vanda. Though utterly wrong for the sophisticated part, Vanda exhibits a strange command of the material, piquing Thomas’ interest with her seductive talents and secretive manner.

As the two work through the script, they blur the line between play and reality, entering into an increasingly serious game of submission and domination that only one of them can win. A mysterious, funny, erotic drama that represents yet another departure for the multifaceted David Ives.

An exploration of gender roles and sexuality, in which desire twists and turns in on itself, Venus in Fur is also a witty, unsettling look at the art of acting, onstage and off.

Starring
CORA WOOD as Vanda
RICHARDSON CISNEROS-JONES as Thomas

Written by DAVID IVES
Directed by MATTHEW ZANFAGNA
Executive Producer CORA WOOD
Producer GNOSIS

RUNTIME: 90 minutes, no intermission
CONTENT WARNING: This production includes adult themes, sensuality, strobe, and prop weapons.

VENUS IN FUR is presented by special arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Dramatists Play Service. 

Originally produced by Classic Stage Company, (Brian Kulick, Artistic Director; Jessica R. Jenen, Executive Director).
Originally produced on Broadway by the Manhattan Theatre Club (Lynne Meadow, Artistic Director; Barry Grove, Executive Producer) by special arrangement with Jon B. Platt, Scott Landis and Classic Stage Company, at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on October 13, 2011.

The Broadway producers of VENUS IN FUR are Jon B. Platt, Scott Landis, MTC Productions Inc. Lynne Meadow, Barry Grove, Jessica R. Jenen, Scott M. Delman, and Classic Stage Company. Lead producer Jon B. Platt’s producing credits include some of the most honored dramatic work in Broadway history: Angels in America: Millenium Approaches (Pulitzer Prize Winner), Perestroika, The Book of Mormon, Wicked, Copenhagen, God of Carnage, Death of a Salesman and Clybourne Park (Pulitzer Prize Winner). In addition to his 7 Tony Awards, Mr. Platt has received 10 New York Drama Desk Awards and 5 New York Outer Critics Circle Awards, and the Robert Whitehead Award for Distinguished Producing in the Commercial Theatre in 2012. Tony award winning producer Scott Landis’ credits include The Children’s Hour (West End), La Bete, The Pajama Game and Nice Work If You Can Get It. Manhattan Theatre Club, led by Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Director Barry Grove, is one of the nation’s leading non-profit theatres producing innovative and diverse work by playwrights at all stages of their careers, at its Broadway and Off-Broadway theatres. Plays that debut at MTC are performed across the country and around the world, and 6 of them have won Pulitzer Prizes: Doubt, Proof, Ruined, Rabbit Hole, Crimes of the Heart, and The Piano Lesson; Jessica R. Jenen produced An Evening with Patti Lupone & Mandy Patinkin, and while Executive Director of Classic Stage Company, produced the world premiere of Venus in Fur, as well as Three Sisters, Uncle Vanya, The Tempest, among others. Classic Stage Company is the premiere Off-Broadway theatre dedicated to reimaging the classical repertory for a contemporary American audience. Scott M. Delman is a private equity investor at DGZ Capital who has co-produced The Book of Mormon, American Idiot, Mary Stuart and Ragtime.