DAVID IVES
REPRESENTATION
Olivier Sultan
Creative Artists Agency
(212) 277-9000
EDUCATION
B.A. (English), Northwestern University, 1971
M.F.A. (Playwriting), Yale Drama School, 1984
BROADWAY AND MAJOR NEW YORK PREMIERES
HERE WE ARE (book) (music and lyrics: Stephen Sondheim) at The Shed, 2023
VENUS IN FUR, Friedman Theatre, 2011; Lyceum Theatre, 2012; Royal Haymarket, 2017
IRVING BERLIN’S WHITE CHRISTMAS, Marriott Marquis Theatre, 2008
IS HE DEAD? (adapted from Mark Twain), Lyceum Theatre, 2008
THE APPLE TREE, (adaptation by David Ives), Hiirschfeld Theatre, 2006
WONDERFUL TOWN, (adaptation by David Ives), Hirschfeld Theatre, 2003
DANCE OF THE VAMPIRES (adaptation), The Minskoff, 2003
DAVID COPPERFIELD’S DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES (adaptation) The Beck, 1996
OFF-BROADWAY AND MAJOR REGIONAL PREMIERES
PAMELA PALMER, The Williamstown Theatre Festival, 2024
THE PANTIES, THE PARTNER AND THE PROFIT: SCENES FROM THE HEROIC LIFE OF THE MIDDLE CLASS, adapted from Carl Sternheim, Shakespeare Theatre Co., 2018
THE METROMANIACS, The Red Bull Theatre, NY, 2018
THE LIAR, at Classic Stage Company, 2017
LIVES OF THE SAINTS, at Primary Stages, 2015
THE METROMANIACS, adapted from Piron, at Shakespeare Theatre Co. (D.C.), 2015
THE HEIR APPARENT, adapted from J-F. Regnard, at Shakespeare Theatre Co. (D.C.), 2011 (and then at Classic Stage, 2014)
THE SCHOOL FOR LIES, adapted from Molière, at Classic Stage Company, NY, 2011
THE LIAR, adapted from Corneille, at Shakespeare Theatre Co., D.C, 2010
VENUS IN FUR, at Classic Stage Company, New York, 2010
NEW JERUSALEM, at Classic Stage Company, New York, 2008
Yasmina Reza’s A SPANISH PLAY (translator), at Classic Stage, New York, 2007
THE BLIZZARD, Twenty-Four Hour Play series, American Airlines Theatre, 2006
THE OTHER WOMAN, Ensemble Studio Theatre, New York, 2006 (included in The Best Short Plays of 2005-2006)
A FLEA IN HER EAR, translated by David Ives, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, 2006
ROLL OVER BEETHOVEN, 2005 (for Playscripts)
POLISH JOKE, New York premiere at Manhattan Theatre Club, 2003
BOLERO and THE GREEN HILL, The Old Globe Theatre, 2003
POLISH JOKE, world premiere at ACT, Seattle, 2001
ARABIAN NIGHTS at Actors Theatre of Louisville, 2000
LIVES OF THE SAINTS, five one-act comedies, at Philadelphia Theatre Company, 1999 (title play included in The Best Short Plays of 2001-2002; ST. FRANCIS PREACHES TO THE BIRDS included The Best Short Plays of 2008-2009)
CAPTIVE AUDIENCE, at the Bay Street Theatre Festival, Sag Harbor, 1999
MERE MORTALS, six one-acts, at Primary Stages, transferring to the John Houseman; the
show included two world premieres: TIME FLIES (included in The Best Short Plays series) and DR. FRITZ, OR: THE FORCES OF LIGHT, 1997
MAKE SOMEONE HAPPY, a musical written with Phyllis Newman, at Bay Street, 1997
THE RED ADDRESS at Second Stage Theatre, 1997
ANCIENT HISTORY (revised version) at Primary Stages, 1996
DEGAS C’EST MOI at Ensemble Studio Theatre, 1996 (included in The Best Short plays Of 1995-96)
DON JUAN IN CHICAGO produced at Primary Stages, 1995
ENGLISH MADE SIMPLE at Seattle Repertory Theatre, directed by Bill Irwin, 1994
ALL IN THE TIMING: SIX ONE-ACT COMEDIES at Primary Stages, 1993 (included in The Best Plays Of 1993-94; THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE included in The Best Short Plays of 1993-1994)
LONG AGO AND FAR AWAY at Ensemble Studio Theatre, 1993
VARIATIONS ON THE DEATH OF TROTSKY and FOREPLAY, OR THE ART OF THE FUGUE at the Manhattan Punch Line Theater, 1991
THE RED ADDRESS at the Magic Theater, San Francisco, 1991
PHILIP GLASS BUYS A LOAF OF BREAD at the Manhattan Punch Line and at Lincoln Center in the Serious Fun series, 1990
THE RED ADDRESS world premiere at the Los Angeles Theater Center, 1990
MERE MORTALS at Ensemble Studio Theater, 1990
SEVEN MENUS at the Manhattan Punch Line, 1989
ANCIENT HISTORY at Primary Stages, 1989
SPEED-THE-PLAY, adapted by David Ives from his article in Spy Magazine, presented at Lincoln Center as part of a Broadway Cares benefit honoring David Mamet. Directed by Greg Mosher, with Joe Mantegna, Robert Prosky, Treat Williams, Mariel Hemingway, 1989.
SURE THING at the Manhattan Punch Line, 1988 (included in The Best Short Plays of 1990)
THE LAND OF COCKAIGNE at the Dobama Theatre, Cleveland, 1988
WORDS, WORDS, WORDS at the Manhattan Punch Line, 1987
LIVES AND DEATHS OF THE GREAT HARRY HOUDINI and POLLY, at the Williamstown Theater Festival (playwright-in-residence) 1983
THE INNER STATION, 1981;
DARK HORSE, 1982;
LIVES AND DEATHS OF THE GREAT HARRY HOUDINI, 1982, all at Yale School of Drama
THE CONVERSION at the AMDA Studio Theatre, New York, 1977
BOARDERS at the Academy Arts Theatre, New York, 1976
SAINT FREUD at the Circle Repertory, 1975
CANVAS at the Circle Repertory, 1973
CANVAS world premiere at Scorpio Rising Theatre, Los Angeles, 1972
CONCERT ADAPTATIONS
ON YOUR TOES, at Encores, 2013
GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES, at Encores, 2012
THE SOUND OF MUSIC, at Carnegie Hall, 2012
PIPE DREAM, at Encores, 2011
LOST IN THE STARS, at Encores, 2011
BELLS ARE RINGING, at Encores, 2010
ANYONE CAN WHISTLE, at Encores, 2010
FANNY, at Encores, 2010
GIRL CRAZY, at Encores, 2009
FINIAN’S RAINBOW, at Encores, 2009
MUSIC IN THE AIR, at Encores, 2009
ON THE TOWN, at Encores, 2008
NO, NANETTE, at Encores, 2008
JUNO, at Encores, 2008
APPLAUSE, at Encores, 2008
MY FAIR LADY (with Kelsey Grammer and Brian Dennehy), NY Philharmonic, 2007
FACE THE MUSIC, at Encores, 2007
OF THEE I SING, at Encores, 2006
KISMET, at Encores, 2006
SOUTH PACIFIC, at Carnegie Hall (with Reba McEntire, also broadcast on PBS), 2005
A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN at Encores, 2005
PURLIE at Encores, 2005
THE APPLE TREE at Encores, 2005
PARDON MY ENGLISH at Encores, 2004
THE NEW MOON at Encores, 2004
BEST FOOT FORWARD at the York Theatre’s “Musicals In Mufti”, 2004
LYRICS AND LYRICISTS: IRA GERSHWIN at the 92nd Street Y, 2004
THE NEW MOON at Encores, 2003
PAJAMA GAME at Encores, 2002
A CONNECTICUT YANKEE at Encores, 2001
BLOOMER GIRL at Encores, 2001
WONDERFUL TOWN at Encores, 2000
ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER at Encores, 2000
DO RE MI at Encores, 1999
STRIKE UP THE BAND at Encores, 1998
JUBILEE at Carnegie Hall, 1998
THE BOYS FROM SYRACUSE at Encores, 1997
IRA GERSHWIN: THE ART OF THE LYRICIST, at Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, 1997
DU BARRY WAS A LADY at Encores, 1996
IRA GERSHWIN: A CELEBRATION AT CARNEGIE HALL, celebrating Ira Gershwin’s 100th birthday (later broadcast on PBS), 1996
OUT OF THIS WORLD at Encores, 1995
RADIO PLAYS
KANSAS ANYMORE, Playing On Air, 2024
SECOND SIGHT, Playing On Air, 2022
DUMMY DIALOGUE, Playing On Air, 2021
LOCKED AND LOADED, CAN I HELP YOU?, Playing On Air, 2021
THE MYSTERY AT TWICKNAM VICARAGE, for Playing On Air, 2017
THE OTHER WOMAN, THE BLIZZARD, SURE THING, THE PHILADELPHIA, MERE MORTALS, for Playing On Air, 2012, 2013
METRO-GOLDWYN-FREUD, for Kurt Andersen’s “Studio 360” on NPR, 2005
MOBY-DUDE, for a program about Melville’s Moby-Dick on Kurt Andersen’s “Studio 360,” 2004 (the program won a Peabody Award)
RIMBAUD VS. MOM, for Kurt Andersen’s “Studio 360,” 2004
FOUR SHORT PLAYS BY DAVID IVES, on “The Next Big Thing,” NY Public Radio, 2002
BARTLEBY THE SCRIVENER for “The Next Big Thing,” WNYC, 2000
MERE MORTALS broadcast on NPR through LA Theatreworks, 1999
HOMO OBLITERATUS, a radio adaptation of David Ives’s short story, on National Radio Theatre, 1983
CANVAS performed in a radio adaptation for the National Radio Theatre, 1981
FILM
VENUS IN FUR, directed by Roman Polanski, screenplay with Polanski, 2013
THE HUNTED, for Trilogy Productions (produced on Showtime, 1997), 1992
YOUNG ADULT NOVELS
VOSS, OR: HOW I COME TO AMERICA AND AM HERO, PenguinPutnam, 2008
SCRIB, HarperCollins, 2005
MONSIEUR EEK, HarperCollins, 2001
PUBLISHED POETRY
A PAIR OF GLASSES, The Hudson Review
ADVICE TO THE CREATOR and THREE RIDDLES, The Hudson Review, Summer 2018
THE PHOBIA CLINIC, a poem, self-published in 300 copies, 2009
RECORDINGS
HERE WE ARE, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
PHILIP GLASS BUYS A LOAF OF BREAD recorded by Non Sequitur
PARDON MY ENGLISH, Encores, City Center NY
OUT OF THIS WORLD, Encores, City Center NY
BOYS FROM SYRACUSE, Encores, City Center NY
MISCELLANEOUS FILM WORK
MAD DOGS AND ENGLISHMEN for Rain Dog Productions, 2017
SLAMMER (rewrite) for Revolution Studios (not prod.), 2005
SMITTEN screenplay for United Artists. (not prod.), 1998
ALFRED KINSEY, DR. SEX, screenplay for HBO (not prod.), 1997
TRAVELS WITH MY AUNT, teleplay for Hallmark (not prod.), 1997
ALL IN THE TIMING, screenplay for Two Roads Productions (not prod.), 1995
THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT, screenplay for Weintraub Entertainment (not prod.), 1988
MR. BLANCO’S BILLIONS, screenplay written for Aaron Russo productions, subsequently acquired by Weintraub Entertainment (not prod.), 1987
THE ENCHANTMENT, screenplay for Monument Pictures. (not prod.), 1987
TELEVISION
THE PENTAGON WARS, TV movie (uncredited rewrites), 1998
REMEMBER WENN – Episode 57, “The Sunset Also Rises,” 1998
URBAN ANXIETY (Fox TV), Staff writer, 1990
OPERA
THE SECRET GARDEN (music by Greg Pliska) at Pennsylvania Opera Theater, 1991
PITCHER PERFECT (music by Catherine Reid) commissioned by The Indianapolis Opera, 1987 (unfinished)
THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE presented by The Pennsylvania Opera Theatre, 1987
SHORT FICTION, ESSAYS AND JOURNALISM
Review of Tom Stoppard: A Life, NYT Book Review, March 7, 2021
Review of Shakespeare In A Divided America, NYT Book Review, March 29, 2020
“Beyond The Fringe,” review of Alan Bennett book, NYT Book Review, Nov. 3, 2017
“Metromania Mania,” introduction to Smith & Kraus The Metromaniacs, 2014
“A Tale Few Folks Would Want To Hear,” (story) Radio Silence, Issue No. 3, 2014
“Comedy Tonight,” introduction to Smith & Kraus edition of The Heir Apparent
The Skin I Live In, Variety, 2011
“The Whole Truth about The Liar,” introduction to Smith & Kraus edition of The Liar
“An Indelicate Balance,” in The Play That Changed My Life, 2009
Introduction to The Best American Short Plays, 2008-2009
“The Exploding Rose,” in The Dramatist, March 2006
Foreword to The Best Short Plays of 2005
“A Flea In My Ear,” The Dramatist, November 2005
“A Ghost On Broadway,” The Dramatist, Spring 2004. (The essay was cited among “Notable Essays Of The Year” in The Best American Essays 2005.)
“Why Write For Theatre,” Zoetrope Magazine, 2002
Humor pieces published in 101 Damnations, St. Martin’s Press, 2002
“Noel Coward’s Comic Design,” New York Times, April 2001
Mirth Of A Nation, a humor anthology from HarperCollins, includes four Ives humor pieces
“St. Francis Meets David Ives,” Philadelphia Enquirer, January 1999
“My Dinner With Anton,” Los Angeles Times, 1998
“What Is This Thing Called Fluff,” for Playbill of Jubilee at Carnegie Hall, October 1998
“Why I Will No Longer Write Plays,” New York Times
“Beckett: A Hip Pocket Guide,” Vogue, August 1996
“Actors Who Don’t Mind Being Yanked Around,” p. 1 of NYT Weekend section, July 12, 1996
“Rea Irvin: Wry Spirit in the Age of Gatsby,” p. 1 of NYT Weekend section, February 16, 1996
“Hunger Artist,” The New Yorker, October 30, 1995
“Tales from the Script,” Harper’s Bazaar, August 1995.
“The Ancient Greeks Did It — Why Can’t We?” The New York Times Arts and Leisure Section, February 26, 1995.
“The Hidden Life of Rocks,” The New York Times Magazine, June 19, 1994.
“The Theory of Anything,” The New York Times Magazine, August 14, 1994.
“13 Ways of Looking at a Thunderbird,” The New York Times Magazine, August 28, 1994.
“Chicken à la Descartes,” The New York Times Magazine, September 25, 1994
“You Say Tomato, I Say Tomorrow,” Spy Magazine, September 1994.
“Night of the Living Near-Dead,” The New York Times Magazine, November 24, 1994.
“Where To Find Laughs in New York City,” New York Magazine, April 18, 1994.
“Speed-The-Play” and “How To Tell the Difference Between the Museum of Modern Art and a Hairball,” Spy Magazine, 1988.
“Dinner at the Buddenbrooks,” Dial Magazine, 1983.
“Specimen Souls,” (story) The Little Magazine, 1983; this story was cited among “Distinguished Short Stories of the Year” in John Updike’s The Best Short Stories of 1984.
“Homo Obliteratus,” (story) The Kenyon Review, 1980.
“Degas, C’est Moi,” The New York Times Magazine, April 17, 1994.
HONORS, AWARDS AND GRANTS
Helen Hayes Award for The Metromaniacs, 2016
Cesar nomination for La Venus a la Fourrure (Polanski’s film of the play)
Honorary Miss Lilly Award, 2012
Sidney Kingsley Award, 2011
Charles MacArthur/Helen Hayes Best Play Award for The Liar, 2011
Three plays picked for Ten Best of the Year in a single year: in New York, Venus In Fur picked by The New York Times; in Washington, The Liar and New Jerusalem by The Washington Post
Speaker at the Aspen Ideas Festival, 2009
Hull-Warriner Award for New Jerusalem, 2009
Lucille Lortel Award nomination for New Jerusalem, 2008
ALL IN THE TIMING included in The Best Short Plays of 1993-94
Seven plays included in the Best Short Plays series:
ST. FRANCIS PREACHES TO THE BIRDS, THE OTHER WOMAN, LIVES OF THE SAINTS, THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE, TIME FLIES, DEGAS C’EST MOI, and SURE THING
Member, Richard Rodgers Award Committee
Joseph Jefferson Award, Best Adaptation, for “A Flea In Her Ear,” 2006
Prince Prize for New Work, for “A Flea In Her Ear,” 2006
Named Artistic Associate of City Center’s Encores series, 2004
New Voices award from the William Inge Theatre Festival. 1998
Member of Tony Nominating Committee, 1996
Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship in playwriting, 1995
Outer Critics Circle Playwriting Award for ALL IN THE TIMING, 1994
Drama Desk Nomination for Best Play for ALL IN THE TIMING, 1994
New York Foundation for the Arts grant, 1988
Member of New Dramatists. 1986
Playwright-in-residence at the Williamstown Theater Festival, 1983
Office Of Advanced Drama Research playwriting grant to be playwright-in-residence at Scorpio Rising Theatre, NY (youngest playwright ever to receive an OADR grant), 1972
WRITINGS AND BROADCASTS ABOUT DAVID IVES – A SELECTION
“The Final Sondheim” – interview with David Ives and Joe Mantello by Frank Rich, New York Magazine, August 28, 2023
“David Ives: Is He Our Best Playwright?” Commentary Magazine, April 2013
“The Americanization of Yasmina Reza,” American Theatre Magazine, January 2007
“The Tilt-A-World of David Ives,” by Terry Teachout, Civilization Magazine, June-July 1997
Articles in New York Magazine and Vanity Fair, February 1995
“Words Count,” Playbill, August 1994.
“David Ives’s Quick-Hit Approach To Staging the Human Comedy,” by William Grimes, The New York Times, January 4, 1994.
“A Sure Thing: The Totally Insane Collaboration of playwright David Ives with director Jason McConnell Buzas, and actors Nancy Opel and Robert Stanton,” Theatre Week, January 17, 1994.
A Search for a Postmodern Theatre: Interviews with Contemporary Playwrights, ed. by John DiGaetani, Greenwood Press, 1991.
“Playwrights Who Put Words at Center Stage,” by Mel Gussow, The New York Times Arts and Leisure Section, February 14, 1990.
“Serious Trouble,” by Simi Horwitz, Theater Week, July 23, 1990.
“Opera Alive,” Opera News, October 1990.
“Incredibly Obscure,” interview in the Sunday Magazine of The Philadelphia Inquirer, January 20, 1991.
“The Making of The Secret Garden,” Opera Monthly, February 1991.
“A Brand-New Opera Comes to Life,” background article on the making of “The Secret Garden,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, Feb. 17, 1991.
Also: numerous reviews in The New York Times, The New Yorker, New York Magazine, Time Magazine, Theatre Week, The Philadelphia Enquirer, The New Criterion, etc., etc.
Appearances on Charlie Rose (Public Television), Theatre Talk (Public Television), Leonard Lopate (New York Public Radio) and “All Things Considered” (NPR), among others
TEACHING and MENTORING
Graduate Master Class, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, 2009
Graduate Master Class in the one-act play, NYU Tisch School of the Arts. 2005
Lark Playwriting Center Playwright Adviser
Master Class in playwriting, Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C., 2002
Yale School of Drama Mentor Program, 2000
Adjunct Professor of playwriting, Columbia University, 1995
Adjunct Lecturer in screenwriting, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, 1987-88, 1993-94
Teacher of playwriting, New Dramatists, New York, 1986-88