In the Next Room (or the vibrator play)
By Sarah Ruhl
Directed by Les Waters
Originally produced at Berkeley Repertory, Berkeley, CA.
January 30,2009 through March 15, 2009
About the Premiere Production: This January 2009, Berkeley Repertory Theatre will proudly present the world premiere production of In the Next Room (or the vibrator play) by Sarah Ruhl, directed by Associate Artistic Director Les Waters and commissioned by the Theatre in 2005. In the Next Room (or the vibrator play) illuminates the lives of six lonely people seeking relief from a local doctor – but, despite his expertise with a strange new technology, all they really need is intimacy. It’s a tender tale that takes place in the twilight of the Victorian age, an elegant comedy lit by unexpected sparks from the approaching era of electricity, equality, science, and sexuality. The Washington Post declares that “the Golden Ruhl has the Midas touch,” and Smithsonian asserts, “Ruhl, like Dickinson, is a wild original… Even when she tackles darker topics – heartbreak, loss, disease, and death – her touch is light.” The young writer has already earned a MacArthur Fellowship, the Helen Merrill Award, the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, a Whiting Writers’ Award, and a nomination for the Pulitzer Prize.
Artistic Statement: “Beyond its comical veneer, In the Next Room (or the vibrator play) seeks to address myriad contradictions surrounding gender and the quixotic nature of desire. The result is a play that is bittersweet: an elegant, disarming, ribald comedy that is unafraid to reveal the melancholy that lives below the surface of every desire. By providing Sarah Ruhl a full set of resources to develop and stage this new play, Berkeley Rep is providing a supportive space for her to continue to expand the scope, depth and quality of her artistic work. Although the play’s title and aspects of its content may initially be perceived as controversial—the play is an excellent piece of art that merits attention and respect. The play also contains several strong roles for women. Although American Theatre has entered the 21st century, there continues to be an alarming shortage of complex, satisfying and artistically challenging roles available for middle-aged actresses. Additionally, In the Next Room (or the vibrator play) grapples with questions of gender, sexuality, race and women’s control of their own bodies. These are complicated issues faced by contemporary American society that we doubt will be resolved in the near foreseeable future.” - From Tony Taccone, Artistic Director
Director: Les Waters
Set Design: Annie Smart
Lighting Design: Russell Champa
Costume Design: David Zinn
Additional Funders:
The Bernard Osher Foundation
National Endowment for the Arts (pending)
Awards and Nominations
Tony Award
Best Play
2010 Nominee
Produced by Lincoln Center Theater (André Bishop: Artistic Director; Bernard Gersten: Executive Producer)
Written by Sarah Ruhl
Pulitzer Prize
For Drama
2010 Nominee
Written by Sarah Ruhl
Drama Desk Award
Outstanding Costume Design
2010 Nominee
Costume Design by David Zinn
Subsequent Productions:
ZACH Theatre in Austin, TX January 29, 2014 - February 23, 2014
Performance Network Theatre in Ann Arbor, MI June 14, 2012 - July 15, 2012
North Carolina Stage Co. in Asheville, NC May 9, 2012 - June 10, 2012
Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble in Bloomsburg, PA May 3, 2012 - May 20, 2012
Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre in Pittsburgh, PA April 19, 2012 - May 5, 2012
Cleveland Playhouse in Cleveland, OH April 13, 2012 - May 6, 2012
Stages Repertory Theatre in Houston, TX March 14, 2012 - April 8 ,2012
Milwaukee Repertory Theater in Milwaukee, WI March 7, 2012 - April 22, 2012
PURE Theatre in Charleston, SC March 2, 2012 - March 31, 2012
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center Theatre Company in Colorado Springs, CO February 2, 2012 - February 19, 2012
Actors Theatre of Louisville in Louisville, KY January 24, 2012 - February 18, 2012
Playhouse on the Square in Memphis, TN January 13, 2012 - February 5, 2012
Tennessee Repertory Theatre in Nashville, TN October 27, 2011 - October 29, 2011
Synchronicity Theatre in Atlanta, GA September 29, 2011 - October 30, 2011
PlayMakers Repertory Company in Chapel Hill, NC September 21, 2011 - October 9, 2011
Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago, IL September 9, 2011 - October 19, 2011
Kitchen Dog Theater in Ithaca, NY September 9 ,2011 - October 8, 2011
Actor's Theatre of Charlotte in Charlotte, NC September 9, 2011 - October 1, 2011
ACT Theatre in Seattle, WA July 29, 2011 - August 28, 2011
GableStage in Coral Gables, FL May 7, 2011 - June 5, 2011
San Diego Repertory Theatre in San Diego, CA March 19, 2011 - April 17, 2011
The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis in St. Louis, MO March 9, 2011 - March 27, 2011
The Wilma Theater in Philadelphia, PA March 2, 2011 - April 3, 2011
Unicorn Theatre in Kansas City, MO January 26, 2011 - February 13, 2011
Actors Theatre of Phoenix in Phoenix, AZ October 29, 2010 - November 14, 2010
South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, CA September 26, 2010 - October 17, 2010
SpeakEasy Stage Company in Boston, MA September 17, 2010 - October 16, 2010
Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, DC August 23, 2010 - September 19, 2010
Lincoln Center Theater at the Lyceum Theatre in New York, NY October 22, 2010 - January 10, 2010
Berkeley Repertory Theatre in Berkeley, CA January 30, 2009 - March 15, 2009
PlayMakers Repertory Company in Chapel Hill, NC September 21, 2011 - October 9, 2011
Theatre Cedar Rapids in Cedar Rapids, IA May 16, 2024 - June 2, 2024
Gloucester Stage in Gloucester, MA June 30, 2015 - June 30, 2015
Gulfshore Playhouse in Naples, FL February 16, 2019 - March 10, 2019
Synchronicity Theatre in Atlanta, GA September 29, 2011 - October 30, 2011
TimeLine Theatre Company in Chicago, IL October 20, 2017 - December 16, 2017
Syracuse Stage in Syracuse, NY January 28, 2015 - February 15, 2015
Open Stage in Harrisburg, PA April 12, 2013 - May 4, 2013
PICT Classic Theatre in Pittsburgh, PA April 19, 2012 - May 5, 2012
The Warehouse Theatre in Greenville, SC December 2, 2016 - December 18, 2016
Perseverance Theatre in Douglas, AK March 6, 2016 - April 24, 2016
Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago, IL September 9, 2011 - October 19, 2011
Southern Rep Theatre in New Orleans, LA September 8, 2010 - September 26, 2010
Cleveland Play House in Cleveland, OH April 13, 2012 - May 6, 2012
Profile Theatre in Portland, OR June 11, 2015 - June 28, 2015
The Wilma Theater in Philadelphia, PA March 2, 2011 - April 3, 2011
News
The dearth of blush-inducing signage around Times Square will soon be rectified when the Sarah Ruhl play “In the Next Room (or the vibrator play)” comes to Broadway in the fall.
- New York Times
Playwright Sarah Ruhl (Eurydice, The Clean House, Dead Man’s Cell Phone) will make her Broadway debut with her latest work, In the Next Room or the vibrator play, which is scheduled to begin performances Oct. 22 and officially open Nov. 19 at a Shubert theatre to be announced.
- Playbill.com
The play marks the Broadway debut for Ruhl, who has won numerous honors, including a MacArthur “Genius” grant. Her other plays include The Clean House (a Pulitzer Prize finalist), Dead Man’s Cell Phone, Passion Play, and Eurydice.
- Theatremania