SALT LAKE CITY -- At the dawn of electricity, what kinds of connections brought two people together? "In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play)" explores that question in smart and frank fashion.
The play, by Sarah Ruhl, premiered on Broadway in 2009 and was nominated for three Tony Awards. The Pygmalion Productions version opens Thursday, May 3, at the Wagner Center and is directed by Fran Pruyn. The cast includes Top of Utah performers Teresa Sanderson, Joe Crnich and Holly Fowers, among others.
In a seemingly perfect, well-to-do Victorian home, scientist Dr. Givings has innocently begun using an extraordinary new device for treating "hysteria" in women: the vibrator. Adjacent to the doctor's laboratory, his young and energetic wife tries to tend to their newborn daughter -- and wonders exactly what is going on in the next room.
When a new "hysterical" patient and her husband bring a wet nurse and their own complicated relationship into the doctor's home, Dr. and Mrs. Givings must examine the nature of their own marriage, and what it truly means to love someone. The play's themes also include Victorian ignorance of female sexual desires, motherhood, breastfeeding and jealousy.
The New York Times described the show as "a sex comedy designed not for sniggering teenage boys -- or grown men who wish they were still sniggering teenage boys -- but for adults with open hearts and minds."
Shows are at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays, through May 19, at the Wagner Center, 138 W. 300 South, Salt Lake City. There will also be a 3 p.m. matinee on May 19. Tickets are $20, available through 801-355-ARTS (2787) or www.arttix.org.