“Loved the show! Vivien makes us laugh but also exposes a difficult time she experienced as a young woman making her way in the world. Hysterical look at family life, living in the 70s and the life of cows. Highly recommend it!”

— David Rosnow, Walnut Creek

“UDDERLY DELIGHTFUL! Vivien Straus grew up with a colorful family life, and she milks it for all it’s worth. Highly recommend this charming, original, and very funny performance.”

— Laurel and Tony Gilbert, Fort Klamath, OR

“You’ll feel like you’ve been around the famous kitchen table! The writing is lively and Vivien’s terrific, capturing her 20-something self with esprit and insight. Lithe and funny. Entertaining and enlightening. How did all those characters (and cows!) fit into that tiny theater? West Marin meets the Mission. See this if you possibly can.”

— Helaine Kaplan Prentice

“A fabulous night! Theater at its best!! Highly recommended!!!!!”

— Meital Golan, Campbell, CA

“We very much enjoyed your performance … the yellow umbrella, the cow behavior markers, the sound effects.”

— Sally Gale, Petaluma

“Vivian’s exhuberant personality poured out in her funny and infuriarting play. She so involved the audience that we wanted to get up from our seats to give her advice. The sound effects were perfect,the simple set really appropriate, and Vivian’s portrayals of her many characters gave you insight into their personalities. We loved every minute.”

— Myrab

“E-i-E-i-OY! In Bed With the Farmer’s Daughter, is in turns, funny, poignant, and cringeworthy. But it’s mostly funny. Vivien’s comedic timing is flawless as she invites the audience along with her on the tale of a naive farm girl trying to make her way in the big city, and a man who came for dinner one night, and didn’t leave for five years. Her portrayal of Bolley, her Czechoslovakian boyfriend/rash-that-wouldn’t-go-away, is pitch-perfect. As she tells the story of a series of bad decisions, all inspired by a desire to please her father, the audience laughs with her at first, then ends up laughing at her. We think she’s learned her lesson, then cringe as she makes the same mistakes again. “I know,” she says directly to the audience at one point, “You want to slap me right now.” And we do want to slap her. But we also love her, and want to save her from herself. However, we know, and in the end she learns, that only she can do that.

Vivien seamlessly and impressively morphs into over a dozen believable characters with several different accents during the one-hour performance. During a scene at a family gathering, the audience watches her transform into five characters in quick succession.
Throughout the performance Vivien drops delightful tidbits of wisdomgleaned from the cows she grew up around on her father’s dairy in Marin. The writing is tight, the acting spot on, and the story funny and memorable. We found ourselves laughing again and again on the drive home as we remembered our favorite parts. Highly recommended!”

— Jim Brumm