In the Next Room, or the vibrator play Makes Colorado Premiere 2/2-19

In the Next Room, or the vibrator play, makes its Colorado Premiere at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center Feb. 2 – 19.

At the dawn of the electrical age, a new medical device is developed to pacify "hysterical" women, but it produces a shockingly different result. This Pulitzer Prize finalist is a "stimulating" comedy about marriage, intimacy and electricity.

"I'm thrilled that we are bringing Sarah Ruhl's delicious, hysterical and deeply romantic play to Colorado," said Scott RC Levy, FAC's Director of Performing Arts and Producing Artistic Director of the Theatre Company. "The team we have assembled to bring this Victorian world to detailed life is, like the play itself, exquisite. Come see what all the buzz is about."

The cast includes Stephanie Philo (Mrs. Givings), Chad Siebert (Mr. Givings), Tracy Liz Miller (Mrs. Daldry), Tom Auclair (Mr. Daldry), Amy Brooks (Annie), Marisa Hebert (Elizabeth), and Max Ferguson (Leo).

Three members of the cast are making their FAC debuts, including Philo, who has extensive regional theatre and film credits; Siebert, who has numerous Colorado Springs credits including being a founding member of Springs Ensemble Theater; and Miller, member of Actor's Equity Association and an Associate Producer with Vermont Shakespeare Company.

Joye Cook-Levy will be making her FAC directorial debut, having recently moved to Colorado from Maine where she worked as the Director of Education at Penobscot Theatre Company. Her previous directing credits include Dirty Blonde, Tuna Christmas, and The Santaland Diaries. She holds a Master's Degree in Educational Theatre from New York University.

The creative team includes Christopher L. Sheley (Scenic Design), Holly Anne Rawls (Lighting Design), Janson Fangio (Costume Design).

About playwright Sarah Ruhl
Originally from Illinois, Ruhl earned her MFA from Brown University. She was awarded the MacArthur Fellowship – AKA the Genius Award – for her work, including The Clean House, her first Pulitzer-nominated play in 2005. After receiving the Fellowship, she wrote In the Next Room (or the vibrator play), which made its Broadway debut in 2009 at the Lyceum Theatre and earned three Tony Award nominations.

Ruhl wrote for the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company blog: "I've always been fascinated by what the 19th century novel did not dare show, what it pointedly left out. In the 19th-century novel, no one has sex, no one goes to the bathroom, and certainly, no one uses a vibrator. But I was amazed to find, after reading Rachel Maines' revelatory book, The Technology of org*sm, that many women (and a few men) were treated with electric vibratory massage to ameliorate the symptoms of hysteria.

"Though the vibrator may have been the play's starting point, ultimately it is the silence between people, and how they manage to shatter it, that draws me to these characters. And I think as sophisticated as we moderns are, we certainly understand silence between people-and the comedy (or tragedy) that results when two people in adjacent rooms are unable or unwilling to speak."

Tickets and Show times FAC Member Non-Members
Thursday Preview, 7:30p (Feb. 2) $18 $20
Thursday, 7:30p (Feb. 9, 16) $27 $30
Friday / Saturday, 7:30p $33 $37
Saturday / Sunday matinee, 2 p.m. $29 $32
Student Tickets (any night) $15 $15

Special Events
· Join Producing Artistic Director Scott RC Levy and the cast for a free post-show discussion following the performance on Sunday, Feb. 5.
· Join us for Ladies Night on Thursday, Feb. 9, and receive a free drink ticket at the FAC Box Office, which you can redeem at the Deco Lounge.
· A "Saturday Salon" will discuss the issues of the day from the play, a pre-show discussion on Saturday, Feb. 11, at 6 p.m.
· Enjoy a backstage tour after the show on Thursday, Feb. 16. Learn how the production came together with a focus on the design elements.

Pre-Theatre Dining
Enjoy a gourmet meal at Café 36 prior to the show served by Garden of the Gods Gourmet. Reservations are recommended and can be made at 719.477.4377. Visit the FAC website for the latest menu options.

Information
More information concerning tickets sales for individuals or groups, and the Curtain Call Society can be found at csfineartscenter.org or by calling the FAC Box Office at 719.634.5583.

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