In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play) at Laurel Mill Playhouse

     Sara Ruhl's "In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play)" continues its run at the Laurel Mill Playhouse at 508 Main Street in Laurel through Nov. 20th. The show debuted on Broadway a couple of years ago.

Michael Hartsfield, Eric Henry, Ann Turiano, Dana Medford, Brian Binney, 
Nikki Smallwood, Paula Rich, George Tamerlani

      Pelvic massage really was used to treat hysteria in women (and sometimes men) in Victorian times. Based on documented medical history of the electromechanical vibrator, "In the Next Room" takes place in the late 1800s in the home of a well to do gynecologist. 

     Dr. and Mrs. Givings have just installed electricity in their parlor and the room next to it, which Dr. Givings calls his "operating theater." He treats patients for hysteria in this operating theater as Mrs. Givings listens, befuddled by the sounds, through a locked door. One evening she breaks into the room with a hat pin while the good doctor is out and discovers the mysterious instrument, which she says "looks like a farming tool."

     But when Mrs. Givings figures out that the device has recreational as well as therapeutic value, a series of hysterical developments result. Director Michael Hartsfield handles the intellectual comedy with his usual finness and the Victorian trappings lend a demure quality to the production.

George Tamerlani, Paul Rich, Dana Medford, 
Nikki Smallwood

     But don't take your kids. Although there is no nudity or offensive language (in fact, Ruhl's formal English adds much to the play's charm), patients appear to be masturbated onstage in full view (underneath the sheets of course). And the medical procedures are discussed in graphic detail.

George Tamerlani, Paula Rich

     


Be prepared to laugh, to cry, and squirm a bit through this one. Unraveling Ruhl's ambitious themes in the second act may prove a challenge, but it's worth it.

     See my review in the Laurel Leader.

"In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play)" continues Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. through Nov. 20, with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. on Nov. 13 and 20. Tickets are $13 for general admission; and $10 for students (18 and younger) and seniors (65 and older). For reservations, call 301-617-9906 and press 2. For more information, visit www.laurelmillplayhouse.org.