Sarah Ruhl Playwright

Mechelle Moe + Director

Cast

Anish Jethmalani * + Dr. Givings

Edgar Miguel Sanchez * Leo Irving

Dana Tretta * Annie

Melissa Canciller Sabrina Daldry

Krystel McNeil Elizabeth

Rochelle Therrien * Catherine Givings
Joel Ewing Mr. Daldry

Production Team

Andrew Hansen ^ Composer and Sound Designer

Maren Robinson + Dramaturg

Eva Breneman ^ Dialect Designer

Jared Bellot ^ Assistant Director
Sarah JHP Watkins Scenic Designer
Brandon Wardell # Lighting Designer
Alison Siple # Costume Designer
Vivian Knouse Properties Design
Katie Cordts Wig Designer and Coordinator
Rachel Flesher Intimacy Coordinator
Daniel Parsons Production Assistant
Cara Parrish * Stage Manager
Miranda Anderson * Stage Manager

Understudies

Michelle Bester Annie, Elizabeth

Javier Ferreira Leo Irving

Victor Holstein Dr. Givings, Mr. Daldry

Vahishta Vafadari Catherine Givings, Sabrina Daldry

Reviews

Chicago Tribune

October 30, 2017

3 STARS. “[Sarah] Ruhl’s very clever play … has been plugged in and amped up. … [director Mechelle] Moe’s fuller-throated version is far more unstinting from the start in its exploration of female sexuality and male ignorance thereof. … It’s like she took the show and gave it a firmer shove toward the right spot for the here and now.”

—Chris Jones

Windy City Times

November 2, 2017

“Hot stuff, fundamental stuff and surprisingly funny stuff … With a lot of irony and a touch of sarcasm, Ruhl’s women rule but she makes the men sympathetic as well, much preferring to educate them rather than punish them. It’s smart, gifted, inquisitive and compassionate playwriting.”

—Jonathan Abarbanel

Chicago Theatre Reviews

October 27, 2017

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. “Beautifully directed with style, wit and sensitivity by actress and company member Mechelle Moe, Ruhl’s highly entertaining play is both playful and poignant … TimeLine presents an adult comedy that’s fun, unabashedly about sex, historically accurate and still relevant, even today.“

—Colin Douglas

Around the Town Chicago

October 27, 2017

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. “I found, that like a good wine, [this play] has mellowed and is even better. … The final scene will warm your heart and perhaps bring a tear to your eye. It did, mine!“

—Alan Bresloff

Stage and Cinema

October 27, 2017

RECOMMENDED. “Like Showtime’s brilliant Masters of Sex series, it cunningly contrasts and artfully confuses the short-term standards, technologies and evasions of sex with the rigors and rewards of textured love. … Eavesdropping at its most exciting.“

—Lawrence Bommer

Performink

October 29, 2017

CRITICS’ PICK. “I laughed out loud through much of the first act, in no small part thanks to the finely honed performances TimeLine’s ensemble gives us here. … TimeLine chose a powerfully relevant moment to bring Ruhl’s timely, gentle, and simultaneously funny and heart-wrenching play to Chicago audiences. In The Next Room, or the vibrator play offers an evening full of both enjoyment and contemplation.”

—Rachel Weinberg

Picture This Post

October 28, 2017

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. “Beneath the layers of costume designer Alison Siple’s gorgeous period clothing, their human hearts beat with overwhelming power. … The cast has no weak links. … In The Next Room, or the vibrator play catches America at the moment when electrical power pushed the nation forward as a world leader. But that simply cannot compete with the untamed electricity of the body and soul.”

—Susan Lieberman

Third Coast Review

October 31, 2017

“A charming and titillating look at life in the bad old 19th century. … beautifully directed by Mechelle Moe … The design team for In the Next Room contributes spectacularly to the success of this production.”

—Nancy Bishop

Buzz Center Stage

October 31, 2017

“Sure to tickle audiences … Sarah Ruhl bursts nearly every female taboo of the time out of the closet … In the Next Room comes at just the right time.”

—John Accrocco

Chicago Now

October 30, 2017

“Hilarious, insightful and very liberating … [An] intimate and humorous story of awakening, women’s equality, and the human connections and discoveries.”

—Rick and Brenda McCain

Hyde Park Herald

November 8, 2017

RECOMMENDED. “Fascinating [and] often funny … Director Mechelle Moe keeps it all in balance in TimeLine Theatre’s first-rate production.”

—Anne Spiselman

Chicago Onstage

November 10, 2017

★★★½ “[Director Mechelle] Moe has brought out the very best in her actors, who uniformly deliver excellent performances … A play I can easily recommend.”

—Karen Topham

Features

Rebellious Magazine

November 13, 2017

“Chicago is abuzz about TimeLine’s premiere Of ‘the vibrator play‘” Rebellious Magazine‘s Janet Arvia sits down with Director Mechelle Moe to discuss comedy, feminism and the role of technology in In The Next Room, or the vibrator play.

Read the feature

Chicago Magazine

November 28, 2017

Chicago Magazine catches up with Rachel Flesher, intimacy coordinator for In the Next Room: The Vibrator Play, for an intimate conversation about on-stage sex, intimacy, and the ins-and-outs of 19th century sex-toy prototypes.

Read the feature