Our friends provide kindness, but we are also drawn to harsher souls with “big personalities” and small social skills whose rigor makes us better people. And by “we,” I mean playwright David Ives. A conversation at Classic Stage Company about tenderness and severity with the author of Venus in Fur and CSC’s current production, The Liar. With music from Gary Schreiner.

•  PERSON: Wolf-Dieter Hahr
•  PLACE: 58 East 68 Street
•  THING: an audio cassette
•  RANDY’S THING: his go set