KINGSTON, R.I.—October 1, 2015 – The University of Rhode Island Theatre Department announces the opening of “In The Next Room, or The Vibrator Play,” by Sarah Ruhl.
Presented as part of the URI Honors Colloquium, “The Power of Humor,” Sarah Ruhl’s comedy of manners set in the Victorian Era was nominated for the 2010 Tony Award for Best Play and selected as a finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize.
Hovering at the dawn of electricity, Dr. Givings, a scientist, happily embraces his invention with which he can cure the “hysteria” of his patients, who are primarily female. His wife, Mrs. Givings, a new mother, is consistently pulled toward the sounds emanating from the next room. With the innocent aid given her by the other characters — a distraught female patient and her upright husband, a midwife assistant, an African-American wet nurse and a male artist, Mrs. Givings pursues the light that can infuse her marriage with loving intimacy and open the heavens to delight here on earth. The playwright enlightens us with her tender, hilarious and contemporary take on the universal desire to achieve intimacy with others.
Performances of “In The Next Room, or The Vibrator Play” will run Oct. 15 through 17 and Oct. 22 through 24 at 7:30 p.m. with additional showings Oct. 18 and Oct. 25 at 3 p.m. in the Robert E. Will Theatre in the URI Fine Arts Center, 105 Upper College Road on the Kingston Campus. General admission is $20, while tickets cost $15 for seniors and URI faculty and staff, and $12 for students. To purchase tickets online, visit web.uri.edu/theatre, or call (401) 874-5843 beginning Oct. 5.
A panel discussion, titled “The Electricity of Love,” follows the 3 p.m. matinee performance on Sunday, Oct. 18. The panel discussion is free and open to the public.
Associate professor Bryna Wortman (“Seminar,” “Crimes of the Heart,” “Much Ado About Nothing,” “Marvin’s Room”) directs the production, while costume design is by guest artist Marilyn Salvatore, ’74, set design is by guest artist Cheryl deWardener, ’89, lighting design is by guest artist Jen Rock, and sound design is by guest artist Mike Hyde.
CAST
Actor, Character, Hometown
Belamy Brophy-Baermann, (Dr. Givings), Warwick
Christine Dickinson, (Mrs. Givings), Woonsocket
Katherine Riley , (Mrs. Daldry), Hillsdale, N.J.
Celine Montauay, (Anne), Norwalk, Conn.
Daraja Hinds, (Elizabeth), Pawtucket
Christopher Morris, (Mr. Daldry), Harrison, N.Y.
Diego Guevara , (Leo Irving) , Central Falls
Understudies
Abby Dufresne, (Mrs. Givings), North Kingstown
Olubunmi Olatunji, (Elizabeth), Providence
Emma Walker, (Annie), Naples, Maine
Kyle Fletcher, (Mr Daldry), Ashaway
Emily Carter, (Mrs. Daldry), Scituate
John Thomas Cunha, (Dr. Givings), Middletown
Jake Clarke, (Leo Irving), Narragansett
Pictured above
Katherine Riley, left, of Hillsdale, N.J., portrays Mrs. Daldry in URI Theatre’s production of “In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play” by Sarah Ruhl. Belamy Brophy-Baermann, of Warwick, center, plays Dr. Givings, whose invention can cure the “hysteria” of his female patients, while Mrs. Givings, played by Christine Dickinson, of Woonsocket, is drawn to the sounds emanating from the other room. Performances of this contemporary take on the universal desire to achieve intimacy with others begin Oct. 15 in the Robert E. Will Theatre in the URI Fine Arts Center, 105 Upper College Road on the Kingston Campus.
Photo by Randy Osga