"A fascinating, funny and evocative play. . . . Ruhl develops the story
with the enticing blend of irreverent humor and skewed realism. . . .
It's beautiful." -San Francisco Chronicle
"[This] breathtakingly inventive addition to Ruhl's singular body of
work . . . has the potential to be a modern masterpiece."-Los Angeles
Times
Sarah Ruhl made her Broadway debut this fall with her latest
effervescent comedy: a play about sex, intimacy, and equality, set in
the 1880s, when enthusiasm for the electric light bulb gave rise to a
handy new instrument to treat female hysteria. The story revolves around
the medical office and home of Dr. Givings, who regularly induces
"paroxysm" in his once high-strung patient Sabrina, allowing her to
happily return to playing piano. Soon, Sabrina falls in love with the
doctor's assistant Annie, and also befriends his wife Catherine, who is
dealing with her own neurotic misgivings about not being able to
breast-feed her baby. With this new work, Ruhl once again uses playful
symbolism and lyrical language as she makes seemingly effortless
thematic leaps--crafting a play with tremendous critical and audience
appeal, in her singular theatrical voice.
Sarah Ruhl's plays include Dead Man's Cell Phone, The Clean
House (a Pulitzer Prize finalist), Passion Play, and Eurydice, all
of which have been widely produced throughout the United States and
internationally. She is a recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship.
