In the Next Room or the vibrator play

Laura Benanti and Michael Cerveris lead the cast in this provocative, funny, touching and marvelously entertaining story about a young doctor and his wife set at the dawn of the age of electricity in the 1880s. Back then hysteria was a real diagnosis, and women were commonly treated with electrical stimulating machines to ease their condition! Playwright Sarah Ruhl wondered what exactly doctors were thinking when they used vibrator therapies on their female patients. And what did women think was happening to them? In the Next Room or the vibrator play looks at a young technology-obsessed doctor and the devoted wife who longs to connect with him — but not electrically.

This comedy about marriage, intimacy and electricity had its world premiere at Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

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.