Asolo Repertory Theatre Adds VENUS IN FUR to 2012-13 Season

Asolo Repertory Theatre is pleased to announce that Venus in Fur by David Ives will complete the line-up for its 2012-2013 season. The production will be staged in the Historic Asolo Theater April 5-28, 2013 with preview performances April 3th and 4th.

The critically acclaimed, must see hit of the recent Broadway season, Venus in Fur is a hot ticket in every sense. This seductive comedy blends love, lust and literature with the ultimate battle of the sexes. Vanda is an unusual young actress who arrives to audition for the lead in playwright Thomas’ adaptation of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch’s 1870 erotic novel, Venus in Fur. As the audition proceeds, realities begin to shift and an emotionally charged game of cat and mouse unfolds. Is art imitating life? Or is it the other way around? The New York production made an instant star of its leading actress, Nina Arianda, who won the Tony Award for Best Actress. The play also received nominations for the Drama League Award for Distinguished Production of a Play, and the Tony Award for Best Play.

Critics hailed Venus in Fur as “Best of the Year” in The New York Times, the Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, Newsday, The New Yorker, New York Magazine, and Time Out New York. It was called “Seriously smart and very funny” – The New York Times, "Wildly intelligent" – The New Yorker, "Deliciously witty and darkly sexy... a brilliant balancing act of erotic tension and comic release." – Time Out NY.

“When I saw Venus in Fur in New York this past spring, I was thrilled by this smart, sexy, completely original piece brimming with wit and references to classic theatre and art,” said Asolo Rep Producing Artistic Director Michael Donald Edwards. “The relationship between the play’s two characters crackles with tension that goes beyond male/female or actor/director power dynamics – exploring sexual, psychological, emotional, and political ideas in a powerful and compelling way. The show has an incredibly contemporary, American feel that connects directly to Asolo Rep’s American Character project and that will resonate with our audiences. It is fresh, youthful, provocative, and seductive, and it is the perfect piece to complete our season lineup.”

Venus in Fur is recommended for mature audiences.

David Ives is known for his one-act comedies All in the Timing and Time Flies. All in the Timing won the Outer Critics Circle Playwriting Award, ran for two years Off-Broadway, and in the 1995-96 season was the most performed play in the country after Shakespeare productions. His full-length plays include The School For Lies (adapted from Moliere'sThe Misanthrope and a major hit at New York's Classic Stage Company last spring); The Heir Apparent (an adaptation of Jean François Regnard's comedy that was an audience and critical hit at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. this past fall); New Jerusalem: The Interrogation of Baruch de Spinoza, which won the prestigious Hull-Warriner Award; Is He Dead? (adapted from Mark Twain); White Christmas; Polish Joke; and Ancient History. He has translated Feydeau's classic farce A Flea in Her Ear, Yazmina Reza's drama A Spanish Play, and Pierre Corneille's 1643 comedy The Liar. David Ives is the author of three young-adult novels: Monsieur Eek, Scrib, and Voss, and he has adapted 32 American musicals for New York City's beloved Encores! series. A graduate of the Yale School of Drama and a former Guggenheim Fellow in playwriting, he lives in New York City.

Venus in Fur completes the 2012-13 Asolo Rep schedule, which is now as follows:

1776
Music and Lyrics by Sherman Edwards
Book by Peter Stone
NOVEMBER 16–DECEMBER 22

YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU
By Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman
JANUARY 4–APRIL 20

GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS
By David Mamet
JANUARY 11–FEBRUARY 28

THE HEIDI CHRONICLES
By Wendy Wasserstein
JANUARY 19–MARCH 17

CLYBOURNE PARK
By Bruce Norris
MARCH 15–MAY 2

THE GAME’S AFOOT
By Ken Ludwig
MARCH 29–MAY 12

VENUS IN FUR
By David Ives
APRIL 5-28 in the Historic Asolo Theater

Noah Racey’S PULSE, A NEW DANCE MUSICAL
A World Premiere, Conceived, Choreographed and Starring Noah Racey
Directed by Jeff Calhoun
MAY 23-JUNE 16

MY BRILLIANT DIVORCE
By Geraldine Aron
JUNE 26-JULY 14

Subscriptions to Asolo Rep’s 2012-2013 season are currently on sale through the box office at 941-351-8000 or 800-361-8388. Single tickets will go on sale to the public online only on Sunday, September 30 and by phone and in person on Monday, October 1, 2012. Summer Box Office hours are 10am to 5pm Monday through Friday. For more information on the upcoming 2011-2012 season, visit www.asolorep.org.