Tucked around the corner from the Inn on Broadway on Lawn Street is a small set of stairs leading up to a door. It opens into Christ Church, a storied landmark that faces East Avenue out front — and hidden within its cavernous walls, beyond the grand sanctuary, is a cozy theater with stadium-style seating.
It was the longtime former home of Blackfriars Theatre before they relocated to East Main Street in 2009 — dedicated nameplates are still on the arms of the seats. But since August, it’s been the new home of The Company Theatre (most recently based at the Temple Theater). Friday was opening night of The Company Theatre’s inaugural show in the Lawn Street space: “Venus in Fur,” which runs through October 12.
Playwright David Ives crafted “Venus in Fur” as a play-within-a-play featuring just two actors. It opens with a rehearsal call for a stage adaptation of the (real-life) 1870 novel “Venus in Furs” by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch — the author inspired the term “masochism” — and writer-director Thomas Novachek (played by Matthew Walls) is on the phone, pacing the room. He hasn’t found the right actress for the part. He’ll be home soon. He’ll pick up takeout on the way.
Cue a thunderous bolt of lightning across the simple-yet-dramatic set design by Brodie McPherson. Running down the stairs, her hair dripping from the storm, is Vanda Jordan (played by Kit Prelewitz). She sheds her black patent leather trench to reveal a corset, dog collar and thigh high tights.
She thinks the show is about S&M porn. He thinks it’s a great love story. It could be about child abuse. Or, maybe it’s not anthropology or sociology. It’s just a play.
So which is it?
What follows is a whirlwind 90 minutes of cat-and-mouse (or is it cat-and-cat?) between the characters that gives a whole new meaning to “power play. “ Reality blurs, and the lack of an intermission is not even felt as the duo keeps the action moving. Del Buono’s direction is strategic, and clearly began with casting — natural chemistry between the actors onstage is absolutely critical for a production like this. Prelewitz and Walls are equally matched in looks and talent, removing any need for the audience to suspend belief and allowing them to simply become immersed in the story.
Walls is a newcomer to the local stage, having performed only once elsewhere since he moved to the area from Indiana. He’s charming and convincing as the tortured artist Novachek, exuding a quiet magnetism. Prelewitz is a returning performer with The Company Theatre, a Nazareth University graduate who regularly graces Rochester stages with her talent and beauty. She’s at perhaps her most stunning yet in the role of Vanda, an amateur actress-cum-seductress who embodies the lyrics of Taylor Swift’s “Mastermind”:
What if I told you none of it was accidental
And the first night that you saw me, nothing was gonna stop me?
I laid the groundwork and then, just like clockwork
The dominoes cascaded in a line
“Venus in Fur” premiered on Broadway in 2011, roughly six years before the #MeToo movement began on social media, and it wasn’t until the last few years that theaters began hiring intimacy coordinators to work with actors who had up close and personal interactions with one another onstage. In some ways, “Venus in Fur” playwright David Ives was ahead of his time given the show’s overall content (and that ending, whew). The show has aged surprisingly well, but still benefits from the guidance of intimacy director Jill Rittinger here. The many sensual moments did not veer into cringe-inducing or uncomfortable; rather, audience members might need a cigarette afterward.
Small performance communities like Rochester will always compete for actors, audiences and sponsors. There’s an ongoing question of pandering to what people want to see onstage, versus producing shows that speak to a specific company mission. Sometimes, the two align — but more often than not, a company has to be smart enough to make sure they do.
In keeping with their classical-to-modern mission, The Company Theatre’s season runs the gamut: in addition to “Venus in Fur,” there’s an adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Persuasion,” Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” and “A Streetcar Named Desire.” Artistic director and founder Carl Del Buono will direct all four shows.
It’s not often a night out at a community theater production makes you forget you’re in Rochester, but “Venus in Fur” does exactly that. If this level of quality remains present throughout the year for The Company Theatre, it will be a season well worth seeing.
After all, to quote Vanda, “don’t we go to plays for passions we’re not getting in life?”
“Venus in Fur” runs through Oct. 12. Tickets are $30 ($25 students/seniors), with a pay-what-you-wish performance on Thursday, Oct. 2 and an ASL-interpreted performance on Saturday, Oct. 11. thecompanytheatreroc.org
