By Jody Tuso-Key: managing editor

Photo Credits: Casey Garner Ford (unless otherwise specified)

Dating today seems like a nightmare. I wouldn’t know—I’m currently enjoying my fresh new era of singledom after 33 years of marriage, and dating is about as appealing to me as assembling IKEA furniture without instructions. But from what I gather, the options are…overwhelming; Apps, speed dating, singles mixers, and the old-fashioned “meet someone at a bar…or a book club if you’re feeling ambitious.” Then comes the real thrill: getting to know someone. And what happens when person A is really into person B, but person B ghosts them? Person A is left spiraling, replaying every interaction like it’s the Zapruder film.

That anxiety-ridden limbo is the launching point for VENUS by Steve Yockey, the third in his planetary trilogy following Pluto and Mercury. And if you’re expecting a neat little love story…you might want to adjust your expectations immediately.

VENUS isn’t about falling in love—it’s about what happens after, when one-sided love lingers a little too long and no one quite knows where to put it.

At the center of this circle are Beth (Suehyla El-Attar Young) and Nicole (Kate Donadio MacQueen), a couple circling each other in a shared celestial space that feels nothing like home and everything like an emotional escape room with no clear exit. Something has gone very, very wrong. Instead of addressing it head-on, they talk around it, through it, and occasionally straight past each other. The story unfolds in layers, with the audience essentially dropped in at the end and asked to work backward. As the narrative rewinds and reassembles itself, we get glimpses of Nicole’s childhood—little frozen moments that hint at the origins of her carefully contained (and increasingly uncontained) fears. It’s equal parts devastating and “oh no…this feels familiar.”

Hovering over everything is Venus the planet itself—not just the planet, but the idea of love—acting like a distant, slightly judgmental cosmic chaperone. Romantic? Sure. If your definition of romance includes grief, denial, serious underlying issues, and the dawning realization that dating does not, in fact, come with a user manual.

Yockey’s structure plays with time and memory in a way that feels intentionally slippery. One moment you’re in tenderness, the next you’re in the aftermath wondering how it all unraveled so quickly. It mirrors the relationship perfectly: disorienting, cyclical, and just grounded enough to hit a nerve.

This production is in expert hands. Artistic Director Freddie Ashley continues his streak of excellent taste, having previously brought PLUTO (2013) and MERCURY (2024) to the Actor’s Express stage. Director Melissa Foulger opts for a theater-in-the-round staging with a minimal yet striking set by Kat Conley. A circular platform—about 15 feet in diameter—is surrounded by tiered steps, all wrapped in a shimmering metallic palette of blues, greens, silvers, and golds. It’s visually simplistic and stunning.

Blocking a 90-minute two-person show in the round is no small feat, but Foulger navigates it with precision. The result is dynamic and fluid—I’d genuinely like to see the show multiple times from different vantage points, because it feels like each seat offers a slightly different experience.

The lighting design by Hernando Claros is a showstopper. What initially looks like a cacophony of familiar, almost domestic light fixtures transforms into something cosmic—sometimes harsh and blinding, other times warm and intimate. And then there’s Venus itself: a glowing orb echoing the set’s colors, quietly presiding over the action. Credit also goes to Lead Electrician Mitchell Peterson and crew, who clearly had a lot of fun bringing this ethereal world to life.

The performances anchor the entire experience. Both actresses commit fully to the play’s strange, Twilight Zone-meets-Alfred Hitchcock tone, making the surreal feel eerily grounded. At times, you forget you’re watching something bizarre and instead feel like an invisible observer of something deeply personal.

Suehyla El-Attar Young’s Beth is immediately engaging—a free-spirited film projectionist in jeans, a vintage Jaws (the movie) t-shirt, and delightfully specific projector earrings. She’s warm, intense, and just a little too much in ways that feel very human. As the story unfolds, Beth’s people pleasing need to connect reveals itself as overwhelming, pushing her into choices that spiral into uncomfortable territory—including an ill-advised visit to Nicole’s home that does not go well.

Kate Donadio MacQueen’s Nicole is Beth’s perfect foil: polished, controlled, and quietly unraveling. Dressed in tailored camel-colored sailor pants and a sleek sleeveless top, she projects confidence that quickly proves to be a carefully constructed façade. Through asides, we learn about her childhood—particularly a formative lesson from her father about locking fears away, starting with something as small (and telling) as a spider. Of course, buried fears don’t stay buried, and Nicole’s unraveling becomes both inevitable and unsettling.

What makes VENUS a success is its honesty about the cosmic mess. This isn’t a sweeping, cinematic rom-com—it’s the quieter, more uncomfortable version of love that lives in pauses, miscommunication, and the stubborn decision to stay even when it hurts. It’s about grief that doesn’t announce itself and love that refuses to resolve cleanly.

In other words, VENUS poses a truly delightful question: what if a few bad dates didn’t just lead to emotional baggage—but to an entirely different dimension? And then it sits with that idea just long enough to make you laugh, wince, and feel a bit uncomfortable in the best way. 

VENUS is Speakeysie highly recommended and we suggest you get your tickets at https://actors-express.com/ today!!

As always, peace be with you and thanks for your readership.