The Buzz Over In The Next RoomTonight marks the Broadway debut for a work by acclaimed playwright
Sarah Ruhl, who was a 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist for
The Clean House. Her
In The Next Room or the vibrator play, which begins previews this evening at Rialto's
Lyceum Theatre, is also her very first work to be staged on the Great White Way.
Produced by
Lincoln Center and directed by
Les Waters, this Victorian-era dramatic comedy stars Tony winners
Laura Benanti and
Michael Cerveris as a married couple coming to terms with a certain electric device. The cast also includes
Quincy Tyler Bernstine,
Maria Dizzia,
Thomas Jay Ryan,
Wendy Rich Stetson and
Chandler Williams.
Since Lincoln Center's
Vivian Beaumont Theatre is already occupied by
Bartlett Sher's Tony-winning revival of
South Pacific, the non-profit is once again mounting part of its subscriber season in a for-profit Broadway house.
In The Next Room is scheduled to open November 19 and run through January 10, 2010.
Ruhl's provocative title, of course, hints at its potentially stimulating subject matter. Lincoln Center
describes the work as follows:
What exactly were doctors thinking back in the 1880s at the dawn of the age of electricity, when they utilized vibrator therapies on their female patients in the name of medical treatment? And what did the women think was happening to them when doctors allayed their so-called "hysteria" with a very personal newfangled machine? That's what Sarah Ruhl wondered when she set out to write In The Next Room or the vibrator play. Hysteria was a real diagnosis, and a quite common one given to women in the Victorian age. Just as common was medical treatment with electrical stimulating machines, the vibrators of the day, to ease their condition!
In The Next Room or the vibrator play is a provocative, funny, touching and marvelously entertaining story about a young doctor and his wife. Dr. Givings (Michael Cerveris) is obsessed with the marvels of technology and what they can do for his patients. His wife, Catherine, (Laura Benanti) is only a bystander in her husband's world -- listening at the door from the next room as he treats his female patients. Dr. Givings is not sure exactly how the vibrators help the women he treats -- but they do keep coming back. The only woman whose problem is not helped by the doctor is his own wife who longs to connect with him -- but not electrically.
Les Waters also directed the world premiere of
In The Next Room or the vibrator play earlier this year at
Berkeley Rep, which had commissioned the work. The play received decent reviews there.
Time will tell whether Ruhl's work generates the same kind of buzz on Broadway by appropriately titillating audiences.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Berkeley Rep, Broadway, In The Next Room, Laura Benanti, Les Waters, Maria Dizzia, Michael Cerveris, Play, Sarah Ruhl
Berkeley Rep: Theatre's New Left Coast Guard?In recent years, it's seemed as though three primary West Coast not-for-profits lead the pack when it comes to producing future Broadway fare, and they're all in Southern California: the
Old Globe (San Diego),
La Jolla Playhouse (just to the north of San Diego) and
Center Theatre Group (Los Angeles).
I've ventured to all three over the last few years to take in various shows in their pre-Broadway engagements and was struck by just how much they emulated big commercial theatres rather than the nonprofits they purport to be. And is it no surprise given some of the major Rialto hits they've produced? In late January, Isaac Butler at Parabasis had a
great post on the double-edged sword this "enhancement" effect has on not-for-profits that's most definitely worth reading.
In part through
Jack O'Brien's artistic leadership, the Old Globe helped shepherd
Into the Woods,
The Piano Lesson,
Two Trains Running,
Damn Yankees,
The Full Monty and
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, among other shows to the Great White Way.
At the nearby La Jolla Playhouse, under
Des McAnuff's guiding hand, shows like
Thoroughly Modern Millie,
I Am My Own Wife,
700 Sundays,
Jersey Boys and the upcoming
Cry-Baby first came to life prior to Broadway.
And up in the city that's known more for its devotion to film than live theatre, Center Theatre Group has earned its stripes under
Michael Ritchie's leadership by producing two highly successful Main Stem musicals:
The Drowsy Chaperone and
Curtains. It's also where the current
Come Back, Little Sheba revival got its start.
I don't begrudge any of them the commercial success they've achieved, but given that success, are each of these theatres really completely deserving of their 501(c)(3) status?
Interestingly enough, as
Joy Goodwin points out in this morning's
The New York Times, the Bay Area's 40 year-old Tony Award-winning
Berkeley Reperatory Theatre is slowly but surely staking its own claim in Manhattan, both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. The latest, perhaps greatest show it's had a major hand in producing is
Passing Strange, which opened last week to major critical buzz.
While the other three theatres offer fare that's arguably more commercially viable, it's refreshing to see a nonprofit doing what you'd hope a nonprofit would do -- taking greater risks in stretching the boundaries of artistic expression. If the result continues to be shows like
Passing Strange, I just may consider making a donation there as a way of demonstrating my solidarity and enthusiastic support for their vision and mission:
Berkeley Repertory Theatre seeks to set a national standard for ambitious programming, engagement with its audiences, and leadership within the community in which it resides. We endeavor to create a diverse body of work that expresses a rigorous, embracing aesthetic and reflects the highest artistic standards, and seek to maintain an environment in which talented artists can do their best work. We strive to engage our audiences in an ongoing dialogue of ideas, and encourage lifelong learning as a core community value. Through productions, outreach and education, Berkeley Rep aspires to use theatre as a means to challenge, thrill and galvanize what is best in the human spirit.
When it gets right down to it, isn't that really what live theatre is all about?
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Berkeley Rep, Broadway, California, not-for-profit, Parabasis, Passing Strange
Stranger Things Have Happened!You heard it here first!
As
I reported here on Tuesday,
Passing Strange will transfer to Broadway this February. Now the news is official. The rock musical by Mark Stewart (aka
Stew) and
Heidi Rodewald will open at the
Belasco Theatre on February 28,2008; previews begin February 2.
Passing Strange is a collaboration between
The Public Theater and the
Berkeley Rep. It played an extended run in the Big Apple over the summer before moving to California. Now it will fill the space suddenly made available after the
strange passing of Lonestar Love.
The entire Off-Broadway cast will transfer, including
de'Adre Aziza,
Daniel Breaker,
Eisa Davis,
Colman Domingo,
Chad Goodridge,
Rebecca Naomi Jones and Stew. Rodewald will be among the musicians on stage.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:Passing Strange To Broadway? (October 16, 2007)
Labels: Berkeley Rep, Broadway, First Word On New Show, Passing Strange, Public Theater, Stew
Passing Strange To Broadway?I'm hearing through the grapevine that Mark Stewart (aka
Stew) and
Heidi Rodewald's rock musical
Passing Strange is heading for Broadway in February 2008 and that an announcement is imminent.
Passing Strange -- a collaboration between
The Public Theater and the
Berkeley Rep -- played New York this past summer and was extended by four weeks before moving on to the Left Coast.
The autobiographical piece centers on Stew, "a young black bohemian in search of self and home who charts a course for 'the real' through sex, drugs, and rock and roll."
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Berkeley Rep, Broadway, First Word On New Show, Passing Strange, Public Theater, Rumor, Stew
