In the Next Room (or the vibrator play)

December 8, 2013 - Comment

“A fascinating, funny and evocative play. . . . Ruhl develops the story with the enticing blend of irreverent humor and skewed realism. . . . It’s beautiful.” –San Francisco Chronicle “[This] breathtakingly inventive addition to Ruhl’s singular body of work . . . has the potential to be a modern masterpiece.”–Los Angeles Times Sarah

Buy Now! $2.99Amazon.com Price
(as of April 19, 2020 10:34 am GMT+0000 - Details)

“A fascinating, funny and evocative play. . . . Ruhl develops the story with the enticing blend of irreverent humor and skewed realism. . . . It’s beautiful.” –San Francisco Chronicle

“[This] breathtakingly inventive addition to Ruhl’s singular body of work . . . has the potential to be a modern masterpiece.”–Los Angeles Times

Sarah Ruhl made her Broadway debut this fall with her latest effervescent comedy: a play about sex, intimacy, and equality, set in the 1880s, when enthusiasm for the electric light bulb gave rise to a handy new instrument to treat female hysteria. The story revolves around the medical office and home of Dr. Givings, who regularly induces “paroxysm” in his once high-strung patient Sabrina, allowing her to happily return to playing piano. Soon, Sabrina falls in love with the doctor’s assistant Annie, and also befriends his wife Catherine, who is dealing with her own neurotic misgivings about not being able to breast-feed her baby. With this new work, Ruhl once again uses playful symbolism and lyrical language as she makes seemingly effortless thematic leaps—crafting a play with tremendous critical and audience appeal, in her singular theatrical voice.

Sarah Ruhl’s plays include Dead Man’s Cell Phone, The Clean House (a Pulitzer Prize finalist), Passion Play, and Eurydice, all of which have been widely produced throughout the United States and internationally. She is a recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship.

Comments

Phred "Phred" says:

Much better to watch than to read Now that I have read this book, (Kindle edition) and seen the play, I am ready render my thoughts.In short from: this is a much better play to watch than it is to read. Nowhere in the text is the pointed wit of an Oscar Wilde or the deep sophistication of a Tom Stoppard. The words are simple and as a read it is somewhat limp. As a performance, these problem disappear.Sarah Ruhl’s play takes place in two rooms, sometimes simultaneously. Mostly we are in the front room of…

MLR "MLR" says:

Beautifully touching play! I really enjoyed reading this great play. It was extremely fun and sexy without sacrificing many opportunities to comment on serious questions of sexual expression, reproductive health, and structured family interactions across race, class, and gender — although these interactions may be slightly oversimplified at times. If you are interested in “In the Next Room,” I would also recommend Caryl Churchill’s brilliant “Cloud Nine,” of which this play is reminiscent.

Write a comment