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)
Subsequent Productions:
ZACH Theatre
Austin, TX
January 29, 2014 - February 23, 2014
Open Stage of Harrisburg
Harrisburg, PA
April 12, 2013 - May 4, 2013
Performance Network Theatre
Ann Arbor, MI
June 14, 2012 - July 15, 2012
North Carolina Stage Co.
Asheville, NC
May 9, 2012 - June 10, 2012
Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble
Bloomsburg, PA
May 3, 2012 - May 20, 2012
Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre
Pittsburgh, PA
April 19, 2012 - May 5, 2012
Cleveland Playhouse
Cleveland, OH
April 13, 2012 - May 6, 2012
Stages Repertory Theatre
Houston, TX
March 14, 2012 - April 8 ,2012
Milwaukee Repertory Theater
Milwaukee, WI
March 7, 2012 - April 22, 2012
PURE Theatre
Charleston, SC
March 2, 2012 - March 31, 2012
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center Theatre Company
Colorado Springs, CO
February 2, 2012 - February 19, 2012
Actors Theatre of Louisville
Louisville, KY
January 24, 2012 - February 18, 2012
Playhouse on the Square
Memphis, TN
January 13, 2012 - February 5, 2012
Tennessee Repertory Theatre
Nashville, TN
October 27, 2011 - October 29, 2011
Synchronicity Theatre
Atlanta, GA
September 29, 2011 - October 30, 2011
PlayMakers Repertory Company
Chapel Hill, NC
September 21, 2011 - October 9, 2011
Victory Gardens Theater
Chicago, IL
September 9, 2011 - October 19, 2011
Kitchen Dog Theater
Ithaca, NY
September 9 ,2011 - October 8, 2011
Actor's Theatre of Charlotte
Charlotte, NC
September 9, 2011 - October 1, 2011
ACT Theatre
Seattle, WA
July 29, 2011 - August 28, 2011
GableStage
Coral Gables, FL
May 7, 2011 - June 5, 2011
San Diego Repertory Theatre
San Diego, CA
March 19, 2011 - April 17, 2011
The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
St. Louis, MO
March 9, 2011 - March 27, 2011
The Wilma Theater
Philadelphia, PA
March 2, 2011 - April 3, 2011
Unicorn Theatre
Kansas City, MO
January 26, 2011 - February 13, 2011
Actors Theatre of Phoenix
Phoenix, AZ
October 29, 2010 - November 14, 2010
South Coast Repertory
Costa Mesa, CA
September 26, 2010 - October 17, 2010
SpeakEasy Stage Company
Boston, MA
September 17, 2010 - October 16, 2010
Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
Washington, DC
August 23, 2010 - September 19, 2010
Lincoln Center Theater at the Lyceum Theatre
New York, NY
October 22, 2010 - January 10, 2010
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