LongBeachPlayhouse-"The Next Room ... or" ... Play: More than Clever Comedy, Writer, Director, Cast, & Crew Bring Witty Victorian Man-Woman WisdomUs Laughs & Messages

Theater Review:  PATCH Entertainment Event:  Long Beach, Belmont Shore, Naples, Los Alamitos/Seal Beach

In The Next Room -Victorian Vibrator Play:  More than Clever Comedy, Writer, Director, Cast, & Crew Bring Us Laughs &  Messages

REVIEW By: Joseph Sirota

Bravo! Long Beach Playhouse(in its 85th Anniversary), it's now offering another unique, captivating, multi-dimensional, live play -- In The Next Room(or The Vibrator Play). The play is by Sarah Ruhl, an exceptionally worthy modern playwright that has an amazing ability to create stories, characters and captivating views that are not only especially entertaining and often funny, but ALWAYS, thought-provoking that has us reevaluating life's values, -- especially the relationships between "Man & Woman". By the last curtain of a Sarah Ruhl play, any taken-for granted, certainties we had, are far more open for new ethics and different "musts" or "must-nots" to our minds. The Vibrator is a surely memorable example of Ruhl's seemingly odd and unusual situations, characters' & stories that examines the core-of-gender-life-issues.    Happily, The Long Beach Playhouse is stretching its envelope of plays --bringing audiences, wide show varieties spanning many interests. 

This Sara Ruhl play(as is her signature), at first is seemingly an odd opening, bringing together a surprising combination of an 1880-1900  medical/electrical “core” tale, with odd characters, each unexpectedly unfolding, challenging each actor to captivate us as each different life intertwines, as if they were destined to come together (yup... quite oddly). The cast is unwaveringly splendid, and we soon find, each person has indeed re-set their lives & values far unlike the quietly mannered Doctor’s office first a well-kept suburb near 1880-1900 New York City.  The name “Vibrator” in the title is not at all just a joke, although it pleased Broadway audiences in recent years, to laugh profusely, as did the Long Beach Studio sharp attendees enjoying Ruhl’s humor and wit-- balanced by intensely opened feelings and wise understandings of Marriage, Love,  Dreams of Life Partners … and Ye Olde Mysteries of “fulfilling-sex” vs. bland(bored?) marriages.  In real history, Victorian era folks (Mainly Men) often felt many well-brought-up women were simply not nearly as natural in enjoying physical loving, even with their husbands (which they were, of course expected to love). So a true oddly inter-happening was that Edison’s scientifically bringing Electricity to lights, photographs and other Happy Enjoyments to mankind was also thought to also brighten up Hubby & Wife “play”. Wives had been often diagnoses by doctors(Men) as “female hysteria” suffering… from a fear of physical sex. Aha! In comes the Dr’s electric Vibrator sex teacher. The vibrator scenes are a raucous comic series of delights. But it also shows needs amidst the fun, as each character learns other “wants”!

I won’t tell you any more of the exact who’s applying vs. using the vibrators? Is it all by Doctors? What other wants/needs rise to the tops?  Great  Director Robert Craig wonderfully, creatively & truly “gets” playwright, Sarah Ruhl, message. He brings both humor & inner wisdom!  The Cast is absolutely triumphant, partly due to Writer and Director, but very much also because each & every actor brings all to life A+++

CAST: Actors & Their Roles …

 Kate Woodruff- Dr’s Wife:  Her key central Ups & Downs feelings are outstanding core Musts! Look out--maybe Jennifer Lawrence Backup

Don Schlossman –The Dr.: Super portrayal of great  Doc, too busy healing the world’s unhappy/unwell, he may lose his own unnoticed wife!  Stephanie Schulz-Dr’s Head Assistant: she becomes more & more smart & a fine worker of medical science too busy to have any own life.

Sophie Mura –Mrs. Daldry-Patient: Has become very fragile & painfully sad/scared in her marriage sans happiness-Yet funniest facial signs!!

Bob Fetes: - Husband Of Patient Sophia: He blames Wife Sophie for loveless marriage, of no physicality--Never sees His hard, selfishness.

Liliana Carrillo: Elizabeth Baby Nurse: Most dear/holy person, trying to live up to honoring marriage partners & children until she lost son.

Scott T Finn: Painter/Patient: Scott is a wild Artist, who wants to be the world’s great painter, poet & lover & to win his idea of world’s beauty

Crew: Another praise-worthy part of this fine production is the excellent staging of the Sets, Costumes, Lighting & Sound. Each of these creative aspects is absolutely necessary to draw us into the correct past time, strikingly providing true surroundings for the strong characters’ world. A handsome parlor shows new Edison Lights, Garden View Windows & a fine piano – all on the close, private stage—PLUS a Must adjacent Dr’s examination room with patient bed and the Key-Electric Vibrator and voltage controls. Plus there are more doors for arriving patients & visitors. Executive-Artistic/Producing Director Andrew Vonderschmitt Shows his Set Designs are as amazing as they were for many years. Add: Sean Gray’s( Light Design); Larry Mura(Sound/Props);  Martina Lee Jeans(Scenic Painter); Donna Fritsche(Costumes + her fine team); and Dominic Mishler(Board Operator), all create correct a surrounding that carries us right to complex story & feelings.

From fine Playwright & Director, to Grand Cast to staging Crew, Here’s a fine Production from A-to-Z--unless you can’t  laugh at buzzing !

___________________________________________________________

==>In The Next Room-VICTORIAN Vibrator Play  Long Beach Playhouse Studio Theatre, 5021 E.Anaheim St, Long Beach, CA.  Sched: Fri & Sat 8:PM.  Sun matinee 2:PM.  Closes: May-31.   Tkts: $24 ($21 Snr, $14 Student). Call: (562) 494-1014  or www.LBPlayhouse.org