Reviews

Possibly Rhul’s best play, an incredibly real portrait of the view of women’s sexuality, who’s only villain is a lack of information. A play that both devastates and lifts up. Truly a great piece of theater.

hazeldye's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

amandaesque's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

tloughlin91's review against another edition

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funny sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

intensej's review against another edition

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5.0

A fantastic play about hysteria, loneliness, motherhood, jealousy, and love. Dr. Givings specializes in helping cure hysterical women with the use of an electric vibrator. When Mrs. Givings hears the reactions of her husband's male and female patients in the other room, she wants him to try the treatment on her. This play definitely needs to be seen because there are so many scenes that happen simultaneously (the doctor's office and the living room share the stage).

emilypolcyn's review against another edition

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5.0

ouch

cantordustbunnies's review against another edition

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2.0

Ruhl makes it clear in a playwright's note that anything ridiculous in the play is truth, and anything ordinary is made up by her. And...well....this is quite apparent. The historical aspect of the play is fascinating and I can only imagine the kinds of things that went on with this kind of treatment. I feel as though the details of wet-nursing were also interesting but could have been explored a bit more. The play has a distinctly political, feminist theme and unfortunately suffers from it. Ruhl very clearly inserts a lot of modern sentiments within the dialogue and her messages are glaringly obvious. I think it would have been far more effective to write a play that has a much more organic, realistic tone and let the events and the characters impart a message incidentally rather than bash the audience over the head. Inducing an orgasm with a vibrator as a form of medical treatment inherently is the kind of detail from the past which draws attention and sympathy to the sexually repressed nature of the time and the plight of women as well as men during that era and could easily point to issues that still happen in current day. To make such a point of inserting contemporary feminist thought is tacky and shatters what could have been a much more impactful play. The play is half in jest, as I suppose is appropriate when dealing with vibrators, but beyond a few innuendos it's not actually funny. It's not raunchy either. It tries to be emotionally charged here and there but the half joking tone dilutes this. It's as though Ruhl wanted to create a serious play that explores sexuality, history, and the plight of women but couldn't get over how silly and awkward her subject matter was. I thought there was a lot of potential with this premise that was squandered. It could have been absolutely hilarious, it could have been a tear-jerking dramedy, but Ruhl settled for a gimmicky and absurd vehicle for her politics of choice.

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