IN THE NEXT ROOM -- or -- the vibrator play -- at the Lyceum Theatre

(Seen 11/25/09)

Although funny at times, this one joke/one note play by Sarah Ruhl, about creating orgasms to treat hysteria in Victorian times in suburban America, doesn't really have a fulfilling climax.

A more-than-capable cast sometimes seems uncomfortable saying silly words and doing silly actions. Based on actual historic medical theories and electric devices, Ruhl has contrived a series of events and interactions around a varied group of social classes.

Although billed as a comedy, with feigned tittering and mock-shock by the characters about the going-ons in the next room, Ruhl still seems to want to make a broader statement about the role of women in marriage, and sexual satisfaction for them --- and perhaps, for men, too --- and the choices that women can make for themselves.

However, it ends up being a precious and preachy fairy tale, with a symbolic happy ending. Electrical stimulation of our sexual organs, in the next room --- the heart of this play --- doesn't necessarily translate into potent theatre comedy.