Venus in Fur Opens Tonight at Asolo Rep

SARASOTA – The sexiest, funniest, most acclaimed hit of the 2011 Broadway season, Venus in Fur, opens tonight in a specially-priced Asolo Rep production that will surely be the steamiest date night ticket in town. The seductive comedy that the New York Times called "seriously smart and very funny" blends love, lust and literature, for an award-winning play that has already spawned a French film adaptation by Roman Polanski.

Sara Nealis

Vanda is an unusual young actress who arrives to audition for the lead in a playwright's adaptation of an eponymous erotic novel. All of the previous candidates have failed to impress, but despite a rocky start, she turns the tables, sending young Thomas into dangerous territory. Does art imitate life? Or is it the other way around? Written by comic mastermind David Ives, this sizzling new play will keep you guessing until the very end.

New York-based Sarah Nealis makes her Asolo Rep debut as Vanda. Nealis' other regional appearances include The Three Musketeers and Heartbreak House at The Denver Center, Emma and The 39 Steps at Cleveland Play House and the world premiere of Theresa Rebeck’s What We’re Up Against. Scott Kerns returns to play Thomas after a standout performance last year as Liron in the Asolo Rep production of The Innocents.

Director Tea Alagić is an internationally acclaimed multilingual theater director and artist. An established New York director with acclaimed Off-Broadway, regional and international productions, she holds a BFA in acting from Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic, and an MFA in directing from the Yale School of Drama where she received the Julian Milton Kaufman Prize in Directing.

Alagić's recent productions include Jackie by Elfriede Jelinek at Women’s Project, City Center Stage II; A Light Design by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins at the Baryshnikov Art Center, and Petty Harbour by Martyna Majok at the Yale Carlotta Festival. Tea also directed the world premiere of The Brothers Size by Tarell McCraney at The Public Theater, NYC, as well as later productions at The Studio Theatre in Washington, DC, and The Abbey Theatre in Dublin.

Tickets for Venus in Fur begin at just $15, making it not only the hottest, but most affordable date night in town. Critics have hailed the play as “Seriously smart and very funny” – The New York Times, "Wildly intelligent" – The New Yorker, and "Deliciously witty and darkly sexy ... a brilliant balancing act of erotic tension and comic release" – Time Out NY. Venus in Fur will be at the FSU Center for the Performing Arts from April 5 - 28. Visit the Asolo Rep website for more information or to reserve tickets.