In the Next Room or The Vibrator Play Critics’ Reviews
Set in the 1880s, In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play centers on a doctor and his wife whose household is upended by the doctor’s experimental therapy as inventor of a new device.
Set in the 1880s, In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play centers on a doctor and his wife whose household is upended by the doctor’s experimental therapy as inventor of a new device.
What Is the Story of In the Next Room or The Vibrator Play?
In a seemingly perfect, well-to-do Victorian home, proper gentleman and scientist Dr. Givings has innocently invented an extraordinary new device for treating “hysteria” in women (and occasionally men): the vibrator. Adjacent to the doctor’s laboratory, his young and energetic wife tries to tend to their newborn daughter—and wonders exactly what is going on in the next room. When a new “hysterical” patient and her husband bring a wet nurse and their own complicated relationship into the doctor’s home, Dr. and Mrs. Givings must examine the nature of their own marriage, and what it truly means to love someone.
"“In the Next Room is a true novelty: a sex comedy designed not for sniggering teenage boys—or grown men who wish they were still sniggering teenage boys—but for adults with open hearts and minds.""
The New York Times
Charles Isherwood
""A compelling yarn with engaging characters who evolve. When Cerveris and Benanti enter the winter garden and disrobe for the play’s final Edenic sequence, [playwright Ruhl] achieves an unforced aura of hopeful wonder.""
Time Out New York
David Cote
""[Playwright] Sarah Ruhl's grasp of her characters is strong, and their troubles are affectingly depicted.A painful and riotous symphony of sexual searching.""
Backstage
David Sheward
""[Director] Les Waters has an agreeably light touch that allows the comedy to milk every ounce of naughtiness without tipping over into puerility. The fine cast keeps it engrossing.""
Variety
David Rooney
""The play has been given a pitch-perfect Broadway staging that beautifully balances its humor and pathos. Under the sensitive direction of Les Waters, the ensemble delivers sterling performances.""
The Hollywood Reporter
Frank Scheck