Photo, Joan Marcus Quincy Tyler Bernstine and Laura Benanti star in "In the Next Room, or the vibrator play," currently playing the Lyceum Theatre in New York City.

By John Soltes / Editor in Chief

NEW YORK (Nov. 30, 2009) — Sarah Ruhl’s  “In the Next Room, or the vibrator play,” currently playing at the Lyceum Theatre in New York City, is naughty. Not in the sense that the secondary title may suggest, but in terms of Ruhl’s uncanny ability to touch upon a taboo subject with characters who don’t realize the preconceived notions of the audience members watching.

Yes, “In the Next Room” deals with the medical advent of electrical stimulation to deal with hysteria in women. That the play is based on fact grounds its plot in an almost educational setting: these men and women who discover the possibilities of electricity in the Victorian era are self-discoverers on a novel mission. The years between the proceedings of the play and 2009 are the years that give “In the Next Room” an extra level of meaning. The experimentation in the play at the hands of Dr. Givings (Michael Cerveris) is dealt with in a gentle, practical manner; he believes he is removing stress from the lives of his patients and helping them to discharge built-up liquid from their womb.

Givings’ resolve is put to the test when his wife, Catherine (Laura Benanti), begins to question further and further what exactly occurs in his parlor office. As she creeps ever closer to the door she begins to hear wails and shouts from his patients. What could be happening in the next room?

The production, presented by Lincoln Center Theater, is directed by Les Waters with a reserved innocence; there isn’t a character or patient that isn’t a respectful person with an affectionate personality. From an Italian artist who becomes the first male patient of Dr. Givings’ unusual practice to a wet nurse who supplies breast milk to the doctor’s newborn child, you would want to keep company with this company.

There are several themes that float through the two-and-a-half-hour play, from the subjugation of women to the suppression of feeling in the Victorian era to the instigation of emotion in light of the dawning technological age. Some of the themes are finely detailed by Ruhl’s pen — in particular the strained marriage between the doctor and his wife, and their incapability of connecting through anything other than his practice.

The other ideas seem less explored and make the two-act play drag slightly.

Cerveris finds just the right balance for Dr. Givings, offering a measured speech that is heavy on academia and light on emotive caring. Quincy Tyler Bernstine, a standout from last season’s “Ruined,” gives a certain detail and stature to the wet nurse, a role that feels underdeveloped.

Benanti is the only one that feels out of place. Her rushed cadence of speaking her mind among her husband and peers comes with a feeling of modernism, as if this woman were a creation from another decade. Once Benanti, a Tony winner for “Gypsy,” settles into the story, she exudes a more qualified sense of herself. By play’s end, she creates a character not lost in time, but on the cusp of ushering in a new era, which is where Ruhl probably intended her character to be. For “In the Next Room” is as much about its place in history as it is about the characters. The electrical methods of Givings is meant to shock not by peering in on people who don’t realize what they're doing (paroxysm is the word used for the sudden outbursts of emotion from his patients), but rather the play serves as a gander at a society held back by its refusal to open its mind and connect with reality.

Perhaps that is why the final image of the doctor and his wife is so startling.

“In the Next Room, or the vibrator play” is currently playing the Lyceum Theatre at 149 W. 45th St. in New York City. Visit www.lct.org for more information.