My thoughts on IN THE NEXT ROOM or the vibrator play (with spoilers) — Page 2

Yeah. At least cut it in half, so it doesn't go on as long as it does.

That's what she said!


...Sorry, I couldn't resist. This line made me laugh considering what you're referring to.

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I don't understand, is it cut or not?

As Britany said:
"I'm not that innocent".

I'd like to go this weekend. I'll likely be in the area tomorrow, so I can go and ask, but if anybody goes and would be so kind as to ask for some concrete info about rush, I'd be much appreciative!

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"it hasn't been trimmed"
The choices are tremendous.
I gotta see this.

Saw it tonight. Only word that comes to mind is: Interesting.

Thanks, Chrysanthemum! Do you know what time they start selling them?

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Just came back from seeing it.

For those interested, I rushed and got an excellent seat in the 6th row of the orchestra, house right, two seats off of the aisle. For $21.50!

As for the play itself, I enjoyed it a great deal. Yes, Act II is not nearly as well-paced as Act I. Yes, Laura Benanti sounds very modern- but I do not blame her. She's a very capable actress, as she has shown time and time again, so I'm sure she could sound more period if she were directed that way. She is a delight to watch on stage, but felt she was most impressive in the play's final scene. As it has been mentioned, she is really very funny in this. But what she does in the last scene makes everything seem very sad.

The cast is uniformly very good. I enjoyed Maria Dizzia a lot as Mrs. Daldry, and thought that Wendy Stetson gave Annie a lot of depth that is not necessarily in the text.

The final moments of the show are so lovely that it makes you sort of forgive any of the play's faults.

The show is pretty frank in its depiction of the use of the vibrator(s), which is initially shocking. Which is, of course, part of the point of the play- the shame we have imbued such things with.

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A few minutes past 6. It was a last minute decision when I was in the area.

Judging by how full the house was, I'd say you'd end up with a pretty swell ticket no matter what time you get there.

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I'm too fried to write a full review (long day), but I went to tonight's performance and I'll just say that it's totally worth seeing. Easily Sarah Ruhl's best play to date (full disclosure: I'm NOT a fan), it's the first time that she's actually written characters and situations instead of just being clever and twee. Laura Benanti is wonderful--she could have a real career as a serious actress, outside of musicals, should she ever choose. Maria Dizzia is equally good. Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Wendy Rich Stetson, and Chandler Williams give very solid supporting performances. Michael Cerveris is still finding his footing, but I think a good performance will most likely emerge in the end.

The second act drags, and around twenty minutes could easily be shaved off of the running time, but it's overall a very worthwhile evening of theatre. I'll definitely revisit it after it opens.

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I liked it, but I didn't love it nearly as much as I had hoped to. I'm a big fan of Sarah Ruhl's writing, but it's not my favorite play of hers. It didn't have much of that poetic, lyrical language that has made me such a fan. This certainly isn't the play for the surrealism and sort of whimsical feeling of, say, Dead Man's Cell Phone or eurydice, because it's definitely much more realistic, but I just didn't feel that it showed off the qualities of her writing that I'm really taken with. I wasn't as moved or made to think as much as I had expected to be, which from her, I found disappointing. I thought the ending was very beautiful, especially in how artful it was, but based on the kinds of things I had read, it wasn't the kind of payoff I wanted it to be. I just, in general, wanted to feel so much more than I did.

Cerveris was really good, but it's not my favorite performance from him. As for Benanti, for me it's not as much a period/modernity thing as that at moments, I felt like she was acting too much like a little girl, which simply didn't seem realistic. I get that she's not of the age, and she's pushing conventions, and there are moments where she gets that and totally nails it, but then there are these moments where she behaves in ways that just don't seem like the way a woman at that time, even one defying conventionality, would really behave. Those are the moments where she reads too contemporary. Overall, I thought she was fine, but I hope her performance evens out some. And it was nice to hear her sing.

In terms of the length and the speculated cuts, I have to say I don't really know what people are talking about. Yes, the second act is longer than the first act, but I really didn't find it to be bothersome at all. It didn't feel "too" long, and now having seen it, I really can't figure out what "should" be cut. I can't find anything that really feels like it can or needs to go. In terms of timing, the way people were talking about it, I had expected that this undressing business was going to take twenty minutes or something -- it was what, three and a half? I don't see why it so badly needs to be cut.

Overall, I did enjoy it and I think it's definitely worth seeing, but I just really wanted to love it more than I did.

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Updated On: 10/27/09 at 07:10 PM

Dizzia was WONDERFUL.

She really is incredible in this. She was probably my favorite part of the show.

Although this play does have its issues and is far from perfect, I do hope that it is remembered come Tony time. Because there really are some excellent and charming performances, and I'd say that at least Maria Dizzia's is nomination-worthy at this point. I'd love to see Benanti nominated, as well, but I feel like she will split opinions (judging by the split opinions here).

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