In The Next Room, Fela!, Race

(In The Next Room)
 
Having endured Sarah Ruhl’s The Clean House, Eurydice, and Dead Man’s Cell Phone, I had low expectations for her next effort, In the Next Room or the vibrator play. Happily, and much to my surprise, In the Next Room is a delightful drawing-room comedy about the most unlikeliest of subjects: the treatment of Victorian women’s “hysteria” with electric vibrators to stimulate orgasm. Who knew? Michael Cerveris (who does the full Monty at the end of the play and looks damn good for a man who’s almost fifty!) plays a physician who’s able to treat everyone but his wife, the lovely if very contemporary Laura Benanti, in this fascinating and occasionally jaw-dropping look at a slice of American life long forgotten and swept under the rug. As much a drama and a love story as it is a humorous look at society, In the Next Room is not to be missed, with a rich supporting cast that includes Maria Dizzia (The Drunken City), Quincy Tyler Bernstine (Ruined) and the handsome Chandler Williams (Translations) who plays a male patient that gets more than he bargained for when he turns to Cerveris for treatment of his own maladies!
 
Unlike any show you’ve seen before, Fela! is a revelation of music, dance, political documentary and personal biography. As far removed from a traditional musical as possible, Fela! is nonetheless a stirring theatrical experience that’s a breath of fresh air, beautifully produced and boasts a cast of relative unknowns who are sensational. Starring as he did in the Off-Broadway production last year at 37 Arts, Sahr Ngaujah is amazing as the late Nigerian composer, performer and activist Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. (In a bizarre career choice—he apparently felt the role was too taxing to perform eight times a week—Ngaujah alternates with Kevin Mambo in the title role.) Notable additions to the Broadway cast include Saycon Sengbloh (Hair) as Sandra and the phenomenal Lillias White (The Life) as Fela’s mother, Funmilayo. Don’t be put off by the subject matter or the lackluster marketing campaign; go to Fela! and see what the excitement is about.
 
Conversely, you can skip David Mamet’s new drama Race, which is badly written, badly directed and seems only to have been produced to capitalize on the cachet of Mamet’s name and the chance to see some movie stars trod the boards. Ostensibly a contribution to the ongoing dialogue on race relations in this country, Race isn’t even as compelling as an episode of Law & Order. It’s nice to see James Spader (who’s terrific in his Broadway debut) and David Alan Grier onstage, but, unfortunately, they’re performing in Race.   N
 
In the Next Room plays at the Lyceum (149 W 45th St, 212-239-6200). Fela! plays at Eugene O’Neill (230 W 49th St, 212-239-6200). Race plays at Barrymore (243 W 47th St, 212-239-6200).