David Ives News

International smash hit gothic horror musical TANZ DER VAMPIRE is set for its premiere in Paris, France a year from now, according to a new blog post by bookwriter and lyricist Michael Kunze.

Paradox Players with present New Jerusalem, written by David Ives and directed by Gary Payne, October 11 - 27 on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. at Howson Hall Theater.

IRVING BERLIN'S WHITE CHRISTMAS, the stage adaptation of the beloved classic film is coming to the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts as part of the 2013/14 BMO Harris Bank Broadway at the Marcus Center and Broadway Across America-Milwaukee series this holiday season. Bring your loved ones for a heart-warming celebration of Americana from November 26 - December 1 at the Marcus Center's Uihlein Hall. Tickets go on sale on Sunday, October 13 at 12:00 pm.

The 2013 Canadian Stage season kicked off with a bang last night as Venus in Fur made her grand debut on stage at The Bluma, the first production of David Ives Tony Award nominated play to be mounted in Canada. Starring Carly Street in the role of Vanda (which earned Nina Arianda a Tony award) Rick Miller as Thomas, the play is a home run for Canadian Stage. Sexy, provocative, intricate, psychological and above all, emotionally intelligent, the show held the audience captive until it's final glorious proclamation.

A scintillating and sensual evening unfolds for The Rep's first Stiemke Studio production this fall. Award winning playwright and author David Ives presents an intimate, layered portrait of men and women relationships in his Venus in Fur, a play based on Leopold von Sacher-Masoch's 1870 novella Venus in Furs. While all the publicity might focus on the sadomasochism¾a term coined by combining the names of the Marquis de Sade and Sacher-Masoch¾this production encompasses the great battles between male and female, God and man, antiquity and modernity, and most visibly, love and power.

Boise State University often puts on a play that opens in the first week or two of October. School started the last week of August, then you have to have auditions and call backs so since the cast was set, they have only had three weeks. Impressive.

American Theatre magazine, published by Theatre Communications Group (TCG), has released its annual October 'Season Preview' issue, featuring the Top 10 Most-Produced Plays list. Based on the 2013-14 seasons reported by TCG's Member Theatres in Theatre Profiles, the Top 10 list omits holiday themed shows (such as The Santaland Diaries and A Christmas Carol) as well as works by Shakespeare. The issue also features articles on successful playwright and actor relationships, musical adaptations of Shakespeare, and Robert Schenkkan's two plays based on the life of President Lyndon Johnson.

Gulfshore Playhouse kicks off their tenth anniversary year with the sexiest, funniest, most acclaimed new Broadway Play, Venus in Fur, playing tonight, October 4th through October 20th.

Classic Stage Company, under the leadership of Artistic Director Brian Kulick and Executive Director Greg Reiner, will present its annual Monday Night Open Rehearsal Series, this year featuring Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. On three Monday evenings - October 21 & 28 and November 4 - different actors and directors will explore the text of Julius Caesar, giving theater-goers the opportunity to become part of the discovery process, and experience different acting approaches and directorial interpretations of one of Shakespeare's boldest tragedies. Here is the line-up for this year's Open Rehearsal series:

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) is pleased to offer an open captioned performance ofTony Award-winning director Frank Galati's triumphant new staging of the musical 1776 tonight, October 3 at 8 p.m., at A.C.T.'s Geary Theater (415 Geary Street, San Francisco). Special seats have been reserved for hearing-impaired audience members who would like an optimal view of the digital screen. These tickets (located in the Orchestra section) are $40 per person and available by visiting at act-sf.org/1776 (select the 'caption' tab) or by calling A.C.T. at 415.749.2228.

Announcing SBCT's 2014 Season - a year filled with incredible stories all played out live on stage. Stories to make you laugh with joy, cry in pain, shudder in terror, and smile in wonder. 2014 offers some new and rare opportunities to experience theatre in exciting ways:

Gulfshore Playhouse is elated to announce Pay-What-You-Can previews for several of their productions for the 2013-2014 Season. For as little as $1.00, theatre-goers can experience world-class live theatrical productions right downtown.

According to a survey published in American Theater magazine, 'Venus in Fur' will be the most-performed play in American theaters this year.

Ann Arbor's professional theater, Performance Nework, recently announced its 32nd anniversary season, sparking great interest and excitement in the Ann Arbor community. And then its phone system went down. And then its online ticketing system crashed, leaving patrons with literally no way to buy the tickets they so desired. This week, after a nail-biting journey for staff and patrons, both the phone system and the database have been restored, and Performance Network is offering a special thank you to its stalwart fans for their patience, making tickets to its entire upcoming season available for a whopping 32% discount - in honor of its 32nd season.

Kristen Coury cannot wait to find out what Neapolitans think about the Gulfshore Playhouse season opener 'Venus in Fur.' She won't have long to wait for feedback. Walk into the Norris Center in downtown Naples on Wednesday night. Pay any amount you chose ($1 minimum) with cash, check or credit card. No chickens, please. Watch the show. Tell your friends.

Classic Stage Company, under the leadership of Artistic Director Brian Kulick and Executive Director Greg Reiner, presents Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, starring Elizabeth Olsen as Juliet and Julian Cihi as Romeo, directed by Tea Alagic, and beginning previews today, September 28 at 3 pm, one day later than originally scheduled. The official press opening is set for Wednesday, October 16.

Venus in Fur, the play that The New York Times calls, 'seriously smart and very funny,' kicks off The Rep's 60th Anniversary Season in the Stiemke Studio. In this sexy new play, audiences have the opportunity to first meet Thomas - a demanding playwright and director desperate for the perfect actress for his new stage adaptation of a classic erotic novel. Check out a first look below!

In this comic gem by the famed Texas playwright best known for The Night Hank Williams Died and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, four former presidents - Richard M. Nixon, Lyndon B. Johnson, Calvin Coolidge and Harry S. Truman- find themselves in an exclusive holding pen outside heaven awaiting the decision of an admissions committee. 'Just who is on that committee?' asks the recently arrived Nixon. 'That's the problem: a buncha narrow-minded damned saints!' Johnson replies. As the sanctified weigh the leaders' good deeds against their sins of omission and commission, 'Landslide Lyndon' and 'Tricky Dick' plot to get around the bureaucracy and go straight to the Boss.

Long-time PICT artistic director and founder, Andrew Paul and Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre founder and former director of theatre initiatives at the August Wilson Center, Mark Clayton Southers have announced Pittsburgh's newest professional theatre company, The Phoenix. The mission of The Phoenix is to explore the issues facing our diverse and rapidly changing world through the language of theatre. The name is purposeful. The phoenix was a mythological creature that crossed borders finding a home in many cultures from ancient Greece and Egypt to Turkey, Persia, Russia, Tibet, China and Japan. It was and is a symbol of renewal, new life emerging from the ashes of the old in a never-ending cycle of death and rebirth.

Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd announces the cast and creative team for Venus in Fur. Brandon Weinbrenner, Alley Theatre Resident Assistant Director, makes his Alley Theatre directorial debut. Venus in Fur features Michael Bakkensen as Thomas, returning to the Alley Theatre after the world premiere of Ether Dome, and Nicole Rodenburg as Vanda, making her Alley Theatre debut.