A Stimulating Play
by Sarah Teach
Are you ready to enjoy some grown-up humor? By the time this play’s title has been mentioned, In The Next Room or The Vibrator Play has already become controversial. But Sarah Ruhl has written a script that is risqué without discourtesy; it’s saucy sans being smutty. Still, you definitely don’t want to bring your kids. This show is a wonderful post-summer present from TWN, who decided to provide their adult audience with something just for us. We love our kids, but it’s nice to drop them off at the babysitter’s every once in a while.
If you can manage to find a few moments during this play when you’re not doubling over in laughter, you’ll be dumbfounded at the realization that it is actually based on fact. The use of electric vibrators to treat “hysteria” in women (and some men, too) is well documented as an acceptable therapeutic treatment in the late 19th century medical world. Ruhl’s carefully named Dr. Givings (played by Asa Jean) mundanely comments on the weather as he performs the treatment upon his patients and aptly reaches the curative goal. “A paroxysm” labels the good doctor, who is oblivious to any other connections his “hysteria therapy” hits upon. Be sure you don’t write off the doctor’s trusty medical assistant, Annie (Bernadette Mannix Feeney), due to her lack of verbosity. Her understated character represents the authentic feminine pride and autonomy for which each of the play’s female characters strives.
Since the bra-burning sixties, the expression “women’s liberation” has traveled far, finally pausing in our modern day to situate itself in a place that denotes contemptuous hissy fits. “Why does everything have so many buttons?” is one symbolic demand made by the frustrated Mrs. Givings (played by Sarah Nabulsi) when she requires help from her husband to undress herself. However, this play’s theme indicates an objective quite the opposite of man hating. Only through the freedom that is brought by being recognized as fellow human beings are the girdle-stricken wives of In The Next Room able to truly connect with their husbands.
Not once does this play’s tongue leave its cheek; it opts to provide viewers with an experience that entertains with no lulls. As a matter of fact, this is the kind of show you may want to see twice in order to catch everything. As the play’s title suggests, the set features two rooms that, side-by-side, encompass every atmosphere necessary for the oft-overlapping drama. But the beautiful period interior set, which may well be the season’s most impressive, does not displace the quality of the story. This time, TWN has thoughtfully put their eggs in an assortment of baskets, and you’re drawn in by the authenticity of it all. The majority of the acting is so real that you even feel a little voyeuristic. (Beware of the sheer talent of Townsend Ambrecht as Mr. Leo Irving.) Nonetheless, it is relieving to acknowledge the truth of our organic humanity in such a shameless fashion. But the thematic elements of In The Next Room stretch far beyond acknowledging our flesh-and-bones composition. There is no single leitmotif. Rather, the play raises an abundance of opinion questions to keep your mind rolling for hours.
A surprisingly compact crew covered all production. For example, Anne Breeding not only directed the play, but also dressed the furniture and set. Additionally, Breeding designed the costumes that stage manager Jane Karakula crafted even as she was serving as light board operator, which is a heavy duty in a play built around electricity. And speaking of electricity, set designer Eric Schultz is also the master electrician. Much like Nantucket itself, the crew bringing us In The Next Room is a condensed but productive body of multitalented people.
Join in the fun and hilarity by getting a ticket and heading to Centre Stage, located at 2 Centre Street below the Methodist Church. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at www.theatreworkshop.com or through the box office: 508-228-4305. The first week of the play has passed us by, but there are still 12 shows to catch!
