My thoughts on IN THE NEXT ROOM or the vibrator play (with spoilers)- Page 3

[trombonist]

Posted: 10/25/09 at 7:41pm

I saw it today via tdf (L on the far house right so I missed some action in the back which included everything involving the door) and I enjoyed it. The second act did start to feel long after a while, but I agree that the ending is so beautiful it sort of makes up for that.

I can't really add anything new to the critiques, but

*SPOILERS*

When Ceveris is disrobed in the ending scene, some guy over on house left somewhere said "Oh wow!" very loudly. Prompted some of that awkward embarrassed laughter from a good bit of the audience.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/25/09 at 7:43pm

Oh my God, that was hysterical. I love audience reactions to stuff like that, they're so awkward.

[perfectliar]

Posted: 10/25/09 at 7:52pm

"Who the HELL would get any kind of thrill looking at the penis of Michael Cerveris?"

I've always found him attractive, I don't know why. Kind of like Tom Collichio.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/25/09 at 7:57pm

Oh, also wanted to add that I thought the costumes were beautiful.

[elphabelle07]

Posted: 10/25/09 at 8:37pm

Not living in New York is the worst. I'd LOVE to see Benanti and Cerveris work together. Keep the reviews coming!

[trombonist]

Posted: 10/25/09 at 8:58pm

Agree Emcee. The costumes were beautiful.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 10/25/09 at 9:45pm

Agreed. The costumes were great and I thought the set worked well.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 10/25/09 at 9:49pm

"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 is definitely
worth seeing....."

Keep 'em coming kids.

[rgdave]

Posted: 10/29/09 at 12:16am

Saw it tonight (10/29). I think they're cutting, because it ran 2:20, not the 2:30 some others have mentioned. Overall, I liked it. Found it interesting, like most Ruhl plays I've seen. The audience response at the end was quite muted - appreciative but not sustained.

Went to the box office for student rush at 7:20. Got 3rd row center, 1 seat off the aisle. Great seat for rush. The orchestra was full except for the far sides. The mezzanine seemed less than half full and I couldn't see well into the balcony, but it looked closed.

It's going to be very interesting to see how this does, both in terms of reviews and box office.

[Kad]

Posted: 10/29/09 at 12:54am

I think, like the Lyceum's previous tenants, it will receive positive reviews but not do great business.

[perfectliar]

Posted: 10/29/09 at 11:53am

For anyone who's rushed this, does LCT only offer 1 rush ticket per ID? I know some box offices have become lenient and will give 2 per ID (like Hiptix still says 1 per account, but they'll give you 2 every time).

Thanks for the help.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/29/09 at 11:56am

Yes, one per ID.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 10/29/09 at 12:03pm

I think, like the Lyceum's previous tenants, it will receive positive reviews but not do great business.

But it has the Lincoln Center subscribers.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/30/09 at 12:38am

Who are, generally speaking, probably not the right audience for this play. So they'll attend because they'll get tickets, but the word of mouth coming from them, I'd imagine, won't be particularly positive. I went to a matinee and it was clearly a subscriber-based audience. The reactions weren't good.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 11/4/09 at 11:15pm

I sat through this tonight. Hated every minute. Dreadfully uneven play, it seems to want to be some kind of feminist statement about something but it never manages to come together into anything even remotely coherent, the serious moments and the comic don't work together: ultimately it comes off like NORA AND TORVALD GO TO THE PLEASURE CHEST. Cerveris and the actresses playing the nurses seem to be in some undiscovered Ibsen play, while the rest of the cast seem to be auditioning for the tour of BOEING BOEING.

I want my two and a half lost hours back. How on earth this has been allowed to get this far in this shape is beyond me. Shame on them for wasting valuable time and resources on this crap production.

[vodkastinger]

Posted: 11/5/09 at 10:44am

Performance: Wednesday, November 4, 8:00 PM (16th Preview)
Student Rush, $21.50/Mezzanine, Row D

3 stars/4

Sexual politics at the dawn of electricity is the subject matter at hand in Sarah Ruhl’s Broadway debut at the Lyceum. I will admit that although I have become a big fan of Ms. Ruhl over the last couple years, but was timid about this play. Her plays are so fresh and adventerous that I was afraid this show, presented by Lincoln Center Theatre, might be a reining in of her previous bold stylism (in light of how safe Roundabout and MTC have been playing during the recession by presenting light, tested fare). I am pleased to report that this play does not rein in absolutely anything. Ms. Ruhl has proved herself to be one of the most exciting new voices in playwriting, with a brilliant storytelling sensibility that is all her own.

The play centers in the home of Dr. Givings (Michael Cerveris), a medical scientist who attempts to cure women of “hysteria” through daily therapy of a massaging vibrator. In the next room, entertaining his patients and their husbands is the effervescent Mrs. Givings (Laura Benanti). The play is not particularly plot heavy, although a more thorough discussion of its plot would give way to spoiling some of the plays best moments. In The Next Room is a brave expose into sexual and gender politics and identity that transcends its period setting. In fact, I could see this play being studied in feminist theory and women’s studies courses for decades to come, as it is one of the best plays I have seen on the subject of female empowerment, both domestically and sexually.

Michael Cerveris shines in the restraint and humility he brings to the role of Dr. Givings. Having seen him on stage four times now, he has become one of my favorite actors in New York, as he disappears into each role without ever relying on schtick. The supporting cast is uniformly wonderful, although I must single out Quincy Tyler Bernstine (the star of the recent hit Ruined) and Chandler Williams as particularly sensational, making their roles of the Givings’ wet nurse and the inhibited artist pop off the page into roles that are both comically rich and heartbreaking. However, the play ultimately rests on the shoulders of Mrs. Givings, played by Laura Benanti. Ms. Benanti has moments of brilliance, especially with the show’s comedic moments. These moments are not enough to mask her struggle with Ruhl’s words. During some of the shows most critical moments, an actress so poised seems absolutely stiff. Ms. Ruhl’s writing is hard to deliver, and would be a struggle for any actress to make completely natural in this role. There are several moments where it calls for Mrs. Givings to channel the energy of Nora Helmer, and instead Ms. Benanti seems to be channeling Lucy Ricardo. Quite simply, the rest of the characters require good performances, which they receive; the part of Mrs. Givings requires a tour de force, and while Ms. Benanti is quite capable and pleasant to watch, I’m not quite sure she’s capable of it. However, I do wish her the best of luck in finding her voice in the role before opening.

Director Les Waters has done a fine job in helping develop the world of Ms. Ruhl’s play, and has wisely stepped back from further stylizing the piece, and lets the play work for itself, on its own terms. Russell Champa’s lighting design is almost a character unto itself, as the characters in the play are all at once disgusted, celebrating, and adjusting to the electric light. Unfortunately, there were quite a few technical glitches with the preciseness of the lighting at the preview performance I attended. David Zinn’s costumes are bold and vivid; they serve to heighten the action while never distracting from it.

In The Next Room is not a perfect play. It follows up a brilliantly paced first act with an overstuffed second that could stand about a half hour of trimming. At the very least, the third scene should be moved to the first act, as the final scene, which is almost an hour makes its audience do quite a bit of watch-checking after the three previous scenes, all of which are about thirty minutes. Despite this, Ruhl has crafted a wonderful little play that is important while never being heavy. In the end, the play about orgasms while not flawless, is certainly satisfying.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 11/5/09 at 11:01am

>>>"The ending, I thought, was lovely. I figure it'll be shortened entirely."<<<

If a man makes love in a snowstorm, things will definitely be shortened.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 11/5/09 at 11:22am

It looks like opinions are going to differ widely on this one. Audience response last night was muted, to say the least.

[Sauja]

Posted: 11/10/09 at 10:20pm

Just thought I'd drag this topic back out to add one more thought. And that take is: holy crap, this is a bad show.

I feel bad for the cast because as far as I can tell, none of them seems to have actually been directed. How else to explain a handful of performances that don't seem to be occurring in the same universe let alone the same century? And these are seven deeply talented people, each of whom I've seen and enjoyed in other work.

But unevenness within the performance itself aside, the play is just a stinker. Ruhl has left subtlety in a bloody heap at the door. And lest you miss any symbolism, there is a lot to do with ELECTRICITY and how it relates to LOVE. We're also assaulted with dreadful discussions of motherhood that force Laura Benanti to give voice to line like, "Milk is comfort! Milk is love! If I can't give her milk, how can I make her love me?!"

Even the set is ugly. I don't care if it's period appropriate or not--that was just damn unattractive to look at for two and a half hours.

Good costumes, though.

I'm just so disappointed. Gender roles in the late 19th century, the awakening of repressed female sexuality, the role of race following the Civil War, etc., etc...rich stuff. Too bad it was all bludgeoned to death.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 11/10/09 at 10:31pm

I really liked the play. Yes, the second act was overstuffed. I thought Laura was sensational, as was the entire cast. Some very fine acting. I think the show has lot of depth and hits on some very profound themes. I highly recommend it.

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 11/10/09 at 11:56pm

I hated the costumes. Except for Michael's pimp robe at the curtain call.

[JeaniusIsMe]

Posted: 11/11/09 at 1:30am

I saw it over the weekend (Sunday matinee) and I'm still not quite sure how I felt about it. It was definitely nice to see Michael Cerveris in a much more internalized role than he has played over the past several years. I really found the story to be uneven though- I didn't feel all that connected to the wet-nurse/painting plot thread at all. I probably wouldn't recommend it.

The most interesting part of the show for me was the audience. I'm fairly certain I was the youngest person in the orchestra (I'm 24), and the median age was probably around 65ish. But it was one of the most alive audiences I've ever been in- everyone was totally involved in the play. And almost no one left at intermission. Kind of surprised me.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 11/11/09 at 1:37am

The fact that it's a Lincoln Center Theatre production has a lot to do with the age of the audience and the subscriber base.

Still, they're younger than Manhattan Theatre Club!

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 11/11/09 at 7:46am

The more I think about it, the more I disliked this show. I just keep thinking about it and the word "boring" keeps popping into my head. There were stretches of the play where I either drifted or was just not involved in the action at all. Like the majority of Act II. Not my cup of tea, I guess.

[Sauja]

Posted: 11/11/09 at 11:03am

It didn't help that Act 2 was about 30 minutes longer than Act 1. I also saw it with an audience that seemed to have an average age of around 65. The crowd seemed to be with the play at intermission (lots of "when can I get an appointment?" jokes during the interval), but I think a lot of folks were lost during the second act.

I want to see more original plays on Broadway, and I want to see more female playwrights represented which makes it a little more painful that I hated this as much as I did. But let's see what the reviews bring next week!