Directed by Rosen, Venice is billed as a "hip-hop musical about betrayal and politics set in a post-war, not too-distant future, and is loosely based on Shakespeare's Othello."

Sax and Rosen are the team who brought the West Coast premiere of Clay — a tale of a suburban white kid who becomes a hip-hop performer — to the Douglas Theatre in 2007 prior to regional engagements and a Lincoln Center Theater run Off-Broadway.

Venice was commissioned by Center Theatre Group and features (in alphabetical order) Malcolm Barrett, Bryan Terrell Clark, J.D. Goldblatt, Nia Renee Hill, Kelly Karbacz, Melina Lizette, Victoria Platt, Brett Ryback, Cedric Sanders, Matt Sax and Talia Thiesfield.

Josh Horvath is the sound designer and music producer, Steve Landau is the musical director, lighting is by Henry Sume, and choreography by Ken Roht. Joyce Davidson is the production stage manager.

Post-show discussions will be held after each presentation. Tickets to Venice are $20 for general admission seating and are available by calling (213) 628-2772 or online at www.CenterTheatreGroup.org or in person at the Douglas Theatre box office beginning at 6 PM on each workshop presentation date.

Venice is part of the new DouglasPlus series, created with the goals of "broadening the spectrum of what CTG can develop, produce and present at the Douglas, and fostering new work, new theatrical forms and new audiences."

The Kirk Douglas Theatre is located at 9820 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA.