Rialto Chatter: Classic Stage's VENUS IN FUR Headed to Broadway?

The New York Times is reporting that the Classic Stage Company's critically-acclaimed production of VENUS IN FUR, a new play by David Ives and directed by Walter Bobbie, may be headed to the Great White Way. Featuring Nina Arianda and Wes Bentley, the production has received two extension off-Broadway and will now run through Sunday, March 28. VENUS IN FUR has now become the longest-running production in CSC's 42 year history.

Producer Robert Fox, who is known for bringing small productions to Broadway (A Behanding in Spokane, God of Carnage, Exit the King, The Vertical Hour, The Pillowman), told the New York Times that he is considering a VENUS move into a small Broadway house.

Says Fox: "I think the play is extremely well written and sophisticated, and funny and sexy. It's a great evening in the theater." Pending the availability of an appropriate theater, the show could open as early as next season.

VENUS IN FUR, inspired by the infamous erotic novel of the same name, takes us behind the scenes of an audition, where a man and a woman blur the lines between fantasy and reality, seduction and power, love and sex. A crackling exploration of sexual control and desire, the play is captive to David Ives' famous combination of classic rigor and contemporary wit.

Sets for VENUS IN FUR are by Tony Award winner John Lee Beatty, costumes by Anita Yavitch, lighting by Tony Award winner Peter Kaczorowski and sound by Acme Sound Partners.

VENUS IN FUR will perform Tuesday through Friday at 8 pm; Saturday at 2 pm and 8 pm; and Sunday at 2pm. Tickets are $70 Tuesday through Thursday and $75 Friday through Sunday. For tickets and information, visit www.classicstage.org or call (866) 811-4111, or (212) 352-3101, or visit the CSC box office at 136 East 13th Street, Monday through Friday 12 pm to 6 pm.

Entering its 42nd year as one of New York's most exciting theatres, Classic Stage Company is the award-winning Off-Broadway theatre committed to re-imagining the classical repertory for a contemporary American audience. Led by Artistic Director Brian Kulick and Executive Director Jessica R. Jenen, last season the company presented three sold-out acclaimed productions: Shakespeare's The Tempest, starring Mandy Patinkin; Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, starring Maggie Gyllenhaal, Denis O'Hare and Peter Sarsgaard; and Anne Carson's An Oresteia. Recent productions: critically acclaimed sold-out runs of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull, starring Dianne Wiest and Alan Cumming; the world premiere of David Ives' New Jerusalem, directed by Walter Bobbie; Richard III starring Michael Cumpsty; and Zoe Caldwell in Yasmina Reza's A Spanish Play, directed by John Turturro.

CSC presents plays from the past that speak directly to the issues of today. As we return to works of the past, we endeavor to keep a clear eye on the future, particularly in terms of the next generation of artists and audiences. Classic Stage's artists are the finest established and emerging theater practitioners working in this country. Highly respected and widely regarded as a major force in New York and American theatre, Classic Stage has been cited repeatedly by all the major Off-Broadway theater awards: Obies, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Drama League and the 1999 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Body of Work. Memberships to Classic Stage Company productions are available at various price levels, including the flexible MasterPass membership, which in addition to prime seats entitles members to participate in CSC special series, including their sold-out Open Rehearsal events. For more information on Classic Stage Company visit the theatre's website at www.classicstage.org.

For further information on Classic Stage Company, call (212) 352-3101, visit the theatre in person at 136 East 13th Street, or go to www.classicstage.org.