About book In The Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) (2010)
I read this play because I was cast in the role of Annie and wanted to see what I had gotten myself into. As a play, it was ok. Would I go see it? Probably not. I didn't find the dialogue compelling. It seemed to be there to fill up space. I didn't think some of it was necessary.The character development was lacking. I didn't feel a connection toward any of the characters. They were fairly one dimensional. I know, it takes actors to bring a script to life, but I read a lot of plays and I direct quite often. While the subject might bring in an audience, I'm not sure they would leave the theatre feeling satisfied. I thought there were too many subplots that weren't fully developed and I'm not sure if this play knows what its purpose is. Educational/feminist theatre? Mainstream? It wasn't a tragedy nor a comedy. The feel of it was almost Restoration period. I will play the part of Annie the mid-wife, but I wouldn't go see it. Sarah Ruhl is one of my favorite playwrights. I saw this show on Broadway and loved it - reading it now, nearly two years later, is like going back and revisiting a lovely historical moment. It isn't her best play - but it is her most mature and certainly a sign of the truly great things to come as she melds the fantastic nature of her earlier works with a more 'grown-up' sensibility and more 'traditional' staging requirements.
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