Although it may seem atypical to bring a show about vibrators to a world-renowned Jesuit institution, that is exactly what the Theater and Performance Studies Program has done in its latest performance, “In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play,” from award-winning playwright Sarah Ruhl.
Inspired by “The Technology of the Orgasm: ‘Hysteria,’ the Vibrator, and Women’s Sexual Satisfaction” by Rachel P. Maines, the show is set during the advent of electricity following the Civil War. Dr. Givings, played by Alex Prout (COL ’19), is a specialist in gynecological disorders and an electricity enthusiast who, at the beginning of the story, has just recently invented what he believes to be the cure to female hysteria: the vibrator. The remainder of the show follows him, his wife and his clients as they discover their sexual and emotional desires.
Regarding his artistic vision for the show, director and professor Derek Goldman wanted to capture the attention of students and audiences.
“The vision was to sort of honor the play by engaging with students in a really humane way. I think it’s a play that invites us back to a moment in history that we don’t often think about: the dawning of technology and electricity being used in new ways,” Goldman said. “And it’s an eye-opener for people who don’t really think about the discovery of the vibrator as a historical moment … but it resonates in a very contemporary way.”
Before the performance even begins, the ornate set captivates the audience. Featuring Dr. Givings’ in-home doctor’s study and the family room side by side, the scenery reflects Dr. Givings’ struggle to separate his professional and personal lives, and illustrates the distinct, Victorian divide between pleasurable and procreative sex that was prevalent in the 1880s.
Due to the small cast size, it is easy for the audience to become well-acquainted with the show’s dynamic and relatable characters. Mrs. Daldry, played by Healy Knight (COL ’20) is hysterical and confused, scared of her own body and unwilling to act on her desires after her treatments stop.
Her comically bumbling husband, portrayed by Charlie Trepany (COL ’19) means well but is oblivious to his wife’s needs and unhappiness. Other standout characters include the witty and dutiful assistant Annie, masterfully portrayed by Vanessa Chapoy (COL ’18), and an exuberantly dramatic Italian artist and patient, played by Alec Meguid (COL ’17). Nona Johnson (COL ’17), in the role of the poised and reserved wet nurse Elizabeth, embodies strength, duty and a commitment to family values, with which several of the other characters struggle.
Despite the splendid performances by the entire cast, it is Catherine Givings, portrayed by Michaela Farrell (COL ’18), who truly shines and forms a connection with the audience. A hopeless romantic and quiet rebel, Mrs. Givings struggles to be dutiful to her husband and child, as well as to herself. She finds it difficult to reconcile passion with responsibility and fails to receive from her husband the attention she desperately needs. In the end, Mrs. Givings is able to finally realize what is missing from her life, shake the shroud of duty, and rekindle the romance between herself and her husband. She serves as a model for self-love and discovery, which is what makes her so admirable.
“Mrs. Givings is entirely relatable: She is curious about love and determined to feel. The hard part was placing this desire and energy in a character who was living in a time when a woman’s voice had to take a backseat to a man’s,” Farrell said. “Playing a character that is a symbol for sexual gratification and gender equality yet equally constrained by patriarchal societal norms proved to be a balancing act for the ages.”
From a superficial glance, the show may appear to be about vibrators and paroxysms, but, at its core, “In the Next Room” is about discovery and fear of embracing the unknown.
“Something that we’ve been talking about and working towards in rehearsal is the idea of discovery and the joy of coming to understand something new,” assistant director Katie Rosenberg (COL ’15) said. “As college students, we are in a time of great discovery in many ways, whether that’s in our academics, or in our social lives or in our personal lives.”
Goldman shares Rosenberg’s ideas about the theme of the performance and what audiences should take away from the show.
“For me, the show is about discovery in all of its forms. This play celebrates the discovery of what we already have that’s in our midst,” Goldman said. “One of the things that the students commented on in the rehearsal process is that ironically now we have access to everything on our phones and computers, but in a weird way we’re as estranged from ourselves as people were then.”
The final two showings of “In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play” are tonight and tomorrow in the Gonda Theater. General admission tickets are $18, faculty, staff, alumni and senior tickets are $12, and student tickets are $7.
“In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play” runs in the Gonda Theatre. General admission tickets are $18. Faculty, staff, alumni and senior tickets are $12 and student tickets are $7.