The dawn of electricity and the quest for sexual fulfillment. Who knew the two more
could be linked so satisfactorily on stage?
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Associated Press, NYC
Very good..... Started as a light and comical play, peaked your interest with drama and more
ended in a wonderful love story :)
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DLB, Cleveland
Ruhl's playwriting is inspired...
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The New Yorker, NYC
Wow! A powerful, fun production with an outstanding set, fabulous costumes and superb acting! Although more
set in the Victorian Era, In The Next Room brought up many universal themes that are still being pondered in today's world. Well worth the trip!
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WPH, New York
My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed the show and the Second Stage space was perfect more
for the performance!
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Joe, Cleveland
Loved this play! Sarah Ruhl crafted such an insightful play, the acting was superb, and more
the costumes were a delight to see, most memorable to me was Annie's apron tying around the bustle.
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ES, Eastlake
My husband and I both thoroughly enjoyed this funny and thoughtful play. The costumes more
were spectacular and the acting wonderful.
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Wally K., University Heights
What a fun evening! An interesting juxposition between Victorian ideas about our bodies and the more
invention of "vibrating treatments"..
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CD, Cleveland
A very fun play! It was a sensational climax to an excellent season! more
Also, we appreciated Corey Atkins pre-play talks all year. Welll done.
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Carol, Walton Hills
If this play doesn't provoke you to think about your own hang ups (as you're more
laughing about how absurd they are), then move you to want to evolve past them, I suggest you check for a pulse. Brilliant, funny and engaging beyond any play I've seen in years.
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Elizabeth, Cleveland
An enjoyable play, nicely done with wonderful staging and costumes!
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Mike Kovack, Medina, OH
We corroborate the majority opinion. When we saw "Next Room" it was most certainly relevant, more
emotionally poignant and done with sensitivity--mixing and juxtaposing history with satire; most characters subtly and tenderly portrayed; and staged tastefully but realistically (with fabulous costumes!). Wonder-fully conceived and executed.
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S & K, Hinckley
Insightful, fresh and funny, the play is as rich in thought as it is in more
feeling.
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The New York Times, NYC
Run, don't walk, to see this inspiring play!
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In the Next Room is one of the best plays
and best productions I've seen in recent years
at the Cleveland Play House. We've been subscribers
over 30 years and attend all venues of theatre in and out of town so I don't make these comments lightly. This well-written,
well-acted and beautifully directed work deserves to
be seen by everyone who cares about a moving experience at the theatre. It's sensitive, humorous, steamy, yes. Bravo!
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Margy Haas, Westlake
I thought the play was funny, insightful, and provocative - all the things that live more
theater should offer. If you haven't seen it, I urge you to enter "the next room." You won't regret it.
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MB, North Olmsted
I salute and applaud CPH for producing "In the Next Room". It was an amazing more
and fascinating look at women and men and medical science in the late 1800s. I found it so realistic and believable. The doctor's wife was actually in part not a sympathetic character because she was so much a stereotype of women in that age, but then stereotypes come from somewhere. I took note of the fact that the play was written by a woman, so that the scene at the end was especially satisfying. Too often the women, in paintings and plays and other artistic endeavors, wind up disrobed--to appeal to men. It was satisfying and tender and vulnerable for the tables to be switched. I usually think of CPH as conservative, but this was daring and courageous. And I note your choice of plays this year and next is really exciting. Bravo! Keep up the good work.
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Virginia Goetz, Cleveland, OH
The play had excellent actors who mixed good humor with heartfelt emotion. I more
highly recommend it!
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c, cleveland
Sarah Ruhl wrote this beautiful play about women understanding and finding themselves and how that more
changes everyone around them. This cast and direction are so spot on. The wonder of theater is back, we talked about the play all the way home and the next day. That's what I hope will happen every time the lights go down in a theater. This time it did happen. I thought it was magical. This is the best production I've seen at the Play House in years.
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EG, Cleveland
The best show this whole season!
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CAH, Northfield Center
...explores a sensitive subject with humor and objectivity. I am not sure that the subject more
NEEDED to be explored , but we loved it anyway! PLUS, I finally found out what those gadgets were, in Mom's 1950's Lillian Vernon Catalog.
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LarryL, Painesville
What a beautiful production, a lovely way to close the inaugural season in the Allen. more
BRAVO!!
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cb, Lakewood
Thought provoking and engaging. Plenty of humor etc. Most of the reviews have already touched more
the major high points. What hasn't been mentioned are the fabulous costumes and the great dialect coaching. Actors never slipped out of the lockjaw. Highly entertaining.
But...it could have been said just as well and much more profoundly in an hour and 45 minutes. Dramatic silence should be used judiciously.
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CFL, Shaker Heights
...(a) funny, sexy, moving work brought to lip-biting, toe-curling life by a superb ensemble cast
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Plain Dealer, Cleveland
Set, costumes, actors--all excellent! The thrust stage worked well; the ending was spectacular! more
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Mary Jo, Shaker Heights
I love love loved the play. I had a cursory idea of the subject more
but didn't know it was going to play out in such a hilarious way.
When I walked into the theatre I was really impressed by the set. When the play began I felt the same about the costuming. As the show unfolded I was totally into the characters and their development.
Did people really live like that back then???? I guess so. Thank heaven for the womens' movement of the 1960's. Yeah.
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MB, Seven Hills
Great must see show with humor,pathos,tragedy, love , and more humor
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jack hull, rocky river
The play uses the fascinating historical phenomenon orchid medical use of the vibrator to connect more
Victorian love of science and technology, notions of upper class womanhood and sexuality, even race, as one unconventional woman awakens to her own desires. Great acting in a grand Victorian manner that fits the splendid costumes, authentic undergarments, gorgeous set, and exciting new second stage.
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PG, Oberlin
Great play. Funny and serious. Ruhl did a wonderful job. The actors were wonderful. Hat's more
off to the man who played Dr. Givings.
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THJ, Parma
Cute!
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laurice, Pepper Pike
It would be easy to dismiss individuals who do not like the play more
as prudes. nevertheless, for me the production was a great disappointment. Fifty years into the sexual revulotion the topic is irrelevant. Nothing much is happaning-verbally or visually-other than the repetitive application of the vibrator and the ensuing vocal reactions. The dialog is true to the period but not particularly interesting or witty. I have not sensed emotional depth or sensitivity. The message, such as it is, is transmitted in a heavy hand. On the positive side-the acting is competent and the production is rich and lavish.
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YW, Cleveland Hts.
Although I was quite skeptical of the subject matter, since it was part of the more
series, we decided to go. I must say, though I was somewhat uncomfortable at first, I found myself laughing and totally involved in what was going to happen next. In addition to being a rather artistic play, it was a touching story, no pun intended, and I came to realize it had a much deeper meaning than just sexual one. I really enjoyed the play and I thought the actors did an excellent job.
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KD, Cleveland
"In The Next Room" was a very compelling and honest play. The emotions of the more
characters and their individual struggles were so apparent in the acting that I felt completely in-tune with each. While the middle of the show felt a bit slow-moving, nothing felt forced or brushed over throughout the entire performance. The comedy ranging from subtle to played-up kept me on my toes, while the sporadic moments of sadness brought the play back to its core. I would certainly recommend this play for mature audience members who aren't afraid to laugh at a few sex jokes.
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BL, Cleveland
The play was good - not great. some laughs, a bit heavy handed in getting more
the themes across. great acting and staging. the full nudity was totally unnecessary - gratuitous. Did not add anything to the scene.
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mjm, akron
Generally speaking, the play was fine. The nude scene at the end should have more
been avoided. Allowing the viewer to use his or her imagination would have worked just as well. I did not like all that nudity done as it was.
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Althea Cheatham, Cleveland Heights
The Play was outstanding! My wife and I both had an enjoyable evening.
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Thank you
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E, Euclid
We enjoyed the play... the actors were excellent, the set and the costumes were very more
well done, and the message was poignant. However, it would have been better to have received the "Content Advisory" regarding nudity before seeing the play (no mention in an earlier e-mail from CPH and no reference in the program). As it was, the last scene was a bit startling. Thanks for a good year of productions.
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GDL, Avon Lake
We thought the play quite funny and particularly pointed toward treatment of women in that more
era, which doesn't seem all that different in light of the Catholic Church's treatment of the nuns!!
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Dick and Mary Breitenstein, Solon
The pre-show, the show and the post-show discussion were excellent.
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Although there was some negative buzz about the nudity, it seemed to fit right in with natural flow of the play. Well done!
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DMM, Chagrin Falls
very funny show, did not know really what to expect----laughed a lot
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hope lots of folks go to see this show
well worth it
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Bob & Vicki Curtis, Mentor