She’s an actress looking for a break. No, wait, she’s actually a good performer. No, wait, she’s a former prostitute. No, wait, she loves the book and really, really wants to be in the play. Uh, no, wait, she’s undercover for his fiancee. No, wait, she’s got revenge in store. Um, well, wait, no, she’s something else entirely. Or is she?
Do I care?
No, not really. I just want to revel in the promise of something interesting.
David Ives’s new play, Venus in Fur, brings forth a maddeningly complex female lead role that requires and showcase the full range of an actor’s capabilities. And, in this instance, the performer more than covers her ground. Nina Arianda makes a smashing debut as the dizzyingly complicated Vanda, completely overshadowing an intelligent composition about the power of subjugation.
The play itself is akin to the movie Adaptation. Its about an adaptation of the famous novella, Venus in Furs by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, with two performers, the writer of the stage adaptation of the novel (who is, conveniently, also directing the play) and the aforementioned Vanda, both the actress and the female lead he’s attempting to cast. Wes Bentley, of outdated American Beauty fame, plays the writer/director who is overwhelmed by Arianda’s Vanda.
If Sacher-Masoch’s name rings a bell, it should. This very novella caused his name to be coined into the term masochism. (Side note, sadism, the S in S&M, is derived from the Marquis de Sade. Living nearly 100 years apart in two very distinct cultural eras, its fascinating the two names became a singular term.)
Like the book, the play focuses on the delicate understanding of the desire to be subjugated, to be dominated, and the pleasure the pain of restriction creates. Upon opening (rather elegantly with a drop of the stage curtain to the floor with a thunder roll at the ever creative Classic State Company), the audience sizes up the remnants of an audition day. The writer/director, Thomas chats idly with a supposed significant other (we later learn to be his fiancee) when a whirl of energy in the form of Vanda enters the room.
With madcap flair and a more humorous rant than the one Marin Ireland launched Reasons To Be Pretty with, Arianda absolutely absorbs all of the energy from the moment. She’s hilarious, sad, angry, and utterly captivating. Her entrance, though, is so much more. Its a very modern version of the initial thrust of characters in the novella. And, with an excellent scripted entrance, she gets to read for the part.
Arianda radiates back and forth between her actress persona and the Vanda of the stage adaptation of the novella so effortlessly and convincingly, she is someone worth watching. It won’t be long before producers start lining her up for roles on Broadway. She gives two fully lived-in performances with these elements that when the shifts in her actress persona into other possible motivations and characters, that I was a little stunned at her final climactic transition, since her first appearance was less than ninety minutes ago and the character made such an organic transition that it felt entirely natural.
A graduate of Tisch, her resume is available from their website. Which is a little odd. It won’t be there long. Her agent will wisely get that taken down. But, you can see images of her in a variety of her student and past productions.
Bentley is more of a known performer. He rose to fame with American Beauty, only to never quite get work that seemed up to his capabilities. Something the Times thought about. He gives a solid, engaging performance, but the role is frankly underwritten for the climactic final half hour.
There’s clearly a lot going on in his eyes, but either the role lost something or the directing did. Not quite sure which, but frankly, that last half hour felt noticeably long. Given that this is Off-Broadway (and at Off-Broadway prices), I’m less critical. Something slowed down a bit too much as the play reached its pinacle, and it really had no reason to. It felt about ten minutes too long, and the circling of the conclusion could easily be sped up with a little fine tuning. Ives is certainly talented enough, so if this does eventually transition to a larger house (and it really should), I’d expect a few tweaks.
Back to Bentley, its always nice to see a hot, talented actor make his way back through quality work. His eyes still burn a marvelous blue, and he generates sufficient heat with Arianda while still maintaining a cerebral withdrawal. And, yeah, he’s still hot.
While my friends over at EW thought a TV show might be a way to nudge his career back to the forefront, he’s done enough here to launch a significant theatre presence. Given the depth he can portray with great subtlety, I expect his next five to ten years will be more rewarding than his previous decade. Actors with better characterization tend to age better than vacantly pretty. He was never good at vacant, so real acting will be his way back.
Despite my ulterior motives toward Bentley, the real star here is Arianda. Her effervescent energy, dynamic physical comedy balanced with striking emotional resonance, and general talent make her worth paying attention to. And watching her in Venus in Fur, you have no choice but to obey.
If you don’t have tickets, get them. I order you.
Pay for my ticket and I’ll consider it. I order you.
i only take orders from a signed contract. give and take.
[...] of The Pride, the satire of The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, or the raw emotional evolution of Venus in Fur. Or the historical poignancy of The Temperamentals. And in the revival category, Our Town [...]