Arianda is a Goddess, and Other Musings on Venus in Fur

                So, I know that I’m hopelessly behind in all of this, so sorry to all 6 people who read this.  The end of the year stuff at school has been nuts, so I’ve barely had any time to write about the theater I saw in NYC over Memorial Day weekend.  But I couldn’t let it go any longer without discussing Venus in Fur!

                So, I’m a plan-ahead kind of gal, but I wanted to leave part of my whirlwind 2-day trip up to chance.  I left the Sunday matinee open, with plans to hit up TKTS and see what I could find there.  I got into the play express line, which was surprisingly long, and for the 45 minutes I was there (I got there before the booth opened), I debated what I was going to see.  I couldn’t decide between Venus in Fur and One Man, Two Guv’nors.  I actually asked one of the guys there handing out flyers, and he gave me good advice: see which one I could get a better seat for, and take that one.  He assured me that both shows were wonderful in their own way.  Well, the ticket-seller at TKTS was able to offer me a front-row seat to Venus in Fur, so I took it.

                The only problem?  It was 11 in the morning, and the show wasn’t until 3.  Luckily, I was in the center of the universe, so I took the subway to the Strand bookstore.  I browsed for quite some time, bought a new copy of How I Paid for College…, and wandered back to Union Square to take the subway back to Times Square.  I must have had an air of confidence about me, because that subway trip marked the first of several times that day that I would be asked directions for how to get somewhere on the subway.  One man asked me, “do you take this train often?”, and, not wanting to seem like a tourist, my response was, “not so often, no.”  How silly.

                The time to enter the theater finally rolled around, and I took my seat.  It turns out, I was sitting with some ladies I met earlier in the day in the TKTS line.  We had a lovely chat – one lady didn’t realize that some shows have performances on Sunday evening, and once she found this out, she began busily deciding which one she was going to see.  I guess my five-shows-in-two-days feat is an inspiring one.

                Venus in Fur is presented without an intermission (which was perfection), and the show is just marvelous.  It’s hilarious, deep, and true.  I still cannot get over how amazing Nina Arianda is.  The woman is a genius, plain and simple.  She brought the character of Vanda to life with so much depth and so much truth.  I was peeling with laughter, but also so intent on the arc of her character – how does she do it!?  No, really, I want to know.  I’m writing this after the Tony Awards, but up to the awards themselves, I kept telling people, “If there’s any justice in the world, Nina Arianda will win the Tony.”  I guess my faith in the world is restored.  Clearly I’m not the only one who recognized her genius.  The woman is a goddess.

                Nina’s not the only thing I loved about the show.  Clearly, Ives’ writing is phenomenal.  Hugh Dancy was a great partner for Nina.  I loved the stark set.  It had those little touches that made it real.  You know, like the faded spots on the bulletin board from when a paper is left there a long time, and coffee cups and packets of Equal next to the coffee pot.  My favorite was the sign that said “Your mother doesn’t work here, so please clean up after yourself.”  It’s those little touches that made it so real.

                Even though the show ends just as things are getting really juicy, I love what it does and where it goes in just over 90 minutes.  As the two characters are reading the script to the play-within-the-play, they go there.  Like, really there.  Like, there’s a dog collar involved.  They do things that I’m sure are not equity standard for an audition.  I love that they are so willing to let a piece of theater take them someplace so raw and emotional.  Clearly, they both have hang-ups to deal with – Vanda is either a stalker or clairvoyant, and Thomas is a kind of uptight guy who needs writing to be his release.  The interaction between the two is impeccable.

                I know I’m not giving you much time, but please go see Venus in Fur before it closes in a few days.  You won’t regret it, not one bit.