Battle Brewing Over Where to Stage Beau Willimon Play

A hot young writer with a promising new play. A big-name director attached. A juicy leading role for an actress.

But a theater with only 74 seats?

An unusual negotiation is now underway between the Flea Theater, a respected but tiny Off Off Broadway house, and the powerful Creative Artists Agency over the fate of “The Parisian Woman,” a new play by Beau Willimon (“Farragut North”). The Flea had commissioned Mr. Willimon to adapt Henry Becque's original 1885 play “La Parisienne” and announced it would stage his version â€" about sexual politics in modern Washington â€" during the 2012-13 theater season. But CAA agents for Mr. Willimon and the director attached to the show, Joel Schumacher, best known for action movies like “Batman Forever,” view the play as a potentially big deal that may warrant a production in a larger space than the Flea's 74-seat venue â€" possibly even on Broadway.

The CAA agents for Mr. Willimon and Mr. Schumacher did not return phone calls and email over the last several days, but Mr. Willimon and Carol Ostrow, the Flea's producing director, confirmed that CAA representatives and the theater are talking about mounting the play in a larger space because everyone involved regards it as highly promising. Mr. Willimon and Ms. Ostrow described the negotiations as cordial, but also acknowledged that the Flea was torn about whether to keep the play or let it go to another space in exchange for, say, a producing credit and financial royalty. The Flea has the contractual rights to produce the play, but Mr. Willimon also has approval rights over any production.

Having a hit play with prominent names attached is mother's milk for a small nonprofit theater like the Flea, which depends heavily on ticket sales for revenue and partly on industry and critical buzz to keep donors and board members happy. Mr. Willimon was an Oscar nominee this year for best adapt ed screenplay, as one of the writers on “The Ides of March,” the film version of “Farragut North,” a behind-the-scenes look at a presidential campaign. Mr. Schumacher has Hollywood stature too, and the film and Tony-winning actress Ellen Barkin played the lead role in a recent reading of the play held by the Flea. (No actors are officially attached for a stage production at this point.)

Ms. Ostrow said she could not predict with certainty if the Flea would lose out, financially or in prestige, if “Parisian Woman” went to a larger downtown space or to Broadway.

“We're all working to try to find the right solution in terms of the size of the house and the impact that this play could have on the cultural scene in New York, which includes Off Off Broadway,” Ms. Ostrow said.

Asked if CAA was putting pressure on the Flea or trying to sideline it from a future production, Ms. Ostrow said: “CAA recognizes that we are a force to be reckoned with he re. CAA is looking out for the best interests of their clients and a very powerful piece of theater. But CAA also doesn't have the leverage to cut the Flea out entirely.”

In an interview Mr. Willimon repeatedly expressed feelings of loyalty to the Flea, which staged an early play of his, “Lower Ninth,” in 2008, several months before his career took off with the Off Broadway production of “Farragut North.” He said he did not want to do anything to undercut the Flea, noting that it was the theater's idea to hire him to update “La Parisienne” in the first place.

“From early on there has been talk about what the best venue will be for the play, and the Flea has been and will be an intrinsic part of all of this,” said Mr. Willimon, who is currently the show runner for the coming Netflix series “House of Cards,” starring Kevin Spacey.

Asked about the chances of the play being mounted on Broadway, he said: “It's a possibility, but it's not the only possibility we're looking at. There's enough interest in the play that people feel comfortable asking the question about Broadway, and that's a dream of mine and something I'd certainly like to do in my career.”

Mr. Willimon said his “Parisian Woman” was not a direct adaptation of Becque's biting comedy of manners, but rather inspired by it: His play revolves around a Washington power couple and centers on the wife, an expert at using wit and sexuality for her own ends (including an extramarital affair she is pursuing).

Jim Simpson, the founder and artistic director of the Flea, referred questions to Ms. Ostrow. While “The Parisian Woman” had been announced for the Flea's current theater season, no specific dates for a production were ever set, and Ms. Ostrow said the priority now was to resolve where the play would be produced.