Sometimes, history provides stories more amusing than even the most creative mind could dream up. Such is the case in Sarah Ruhl’s In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play), which opened Friday, November 2, at the Jungle Theater. Of course, Ruhl pumped up the premise of the story—when first invented, vibrators were used as medicinal tools to cure what doctors dubbed “hysteria”—with rich characters and an undercurrent of humans’ need for love, but I felt my review would be incomplete without giving a shout out to Thomas Edison and those ever-insightful men of science for their, er, creative approach to fully utilizing electricity.
Emily Gunyou-Halaas and Christina Baldwin,
by Michal Daniel
Ruhl stages her show in and around the Givings household. Dr. Givings (John Middleton) is a well-respected doctor who has recently acquired what he calls an “experimental electric apparatus.” He advertises the tool as a cure for hysteria, the symptoms of which include sensitivity to light, dulled senses, low energy, and general disinterest in life. His first client is Mrs. Sabrina Daldry (Emily Gunyou-Halaas), a willing (if unenthusiastic) patient who has resigned herself to a life of mediocrity. But all that changes after a three-minute session with Dr. Givings. Suddenly, light no longer bothers her and there are “roses in her cheeks,” as proclaimed by her husband (played by Bradley Greenwald).
As we, the audience, giggle, knowing precisely what has caused this revitalization of sorts, we must admit that part of the beauty of this play comes from the characters’ innocence with respect to the vibrator: to them, it’s like magic—a machine that restores vitality, hope, and passion to their lives. This transformation from dim disinterest to vivacious liveliness is best seen in Gunyou-Halaas’s portrayal of Sabrina. Watching her peel back her character’s cynicism to eventually reveal a passionate, zealous woman is one of the many joys of the play.
The set is cleverly designed by Jungle artistic director Bain Boehlke, and simultaneously showcases both the Givings’ parlor as well as the in-house operating room. As her husband treats his patients, Mrs. Givings (Christina Baldwin) waits in the next room. She has recently given birth to a daughter, but, as she cannot provide enough milk to satisfy the child, she’s had to hire a milk nurse, Elizabeth (Austene Van). With nothing to occupy her time, Mrs. Givings begins to go stir crazy, seeking attention and companionship from whomever walks in her door: the Daldrys, artist Leo Irving (Ryan Underbakke) who is a rare male patient seeking Dr. Givings’s treatment, Elizabeth, and Annie (Annie Enneking), Dr. Givings’s assistant. Her desperation for attention—and her curiosity toward her husband’s practice—only increases when she hears the loud moans and cries that come from her husband’s office, eventually leading her to take action. Baldwin exercises both restraint and bravery in her execution of this character, pushing far enough to portray just how sad Mrs. Givings is while holding back enough to avoid becoming a stereotype of an 1800s housewife.
It would be doing Ruhl, director Sarah Rasmussen, and the cast an injustice to simply take the plot of In the Next Room at face value. It’s in the depth of this story—the raw emotion and desire not only to feel something, but also to be seen and to be loved—that the action really takes place. Every character has lost someone or something, and is desperately, blindly, seeking to recover it through whatever means necessary. Each feels invisible, and looks to those around them for validation and purpose. The blossoming friendships between Mrs. Daldry and Mrs. Givings, the deep connection Elizabeth and Mrs. Givings share as mothers, and, most dynamically, the increasingly tenuous husband and wife bond shared by Mr. and Mrs. Givings: this is where the story lies.
Called a comedy in its 2010 Tony Award nomination, In the Next Room is indeed funny. But it also is heartwarming, intimate, and sentimental. The last few minutes of this beautiful production are some of the most sincere, passionate moments capable of being produced in live theater, reminding us that love is not only an emotion, but also a decision: whether or not you choose to give and receive it is up to you.
In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play)
Through December 16
$20-$38
Jungle Theater, 2951 Lyndale Ave. S., Mpls., 612-822-7063
jungletheater.com
