<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">No Strings Theatre Company presents In The Next Room or The Vibrator Play, running <span dir="ltr">April 19-May 5</span> at the Black Box Theatre, <span dir="ltr">430 N Main Street in Las Cruces</span>.</div><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></div><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">As strange as it may seem in today’s world, there was once a time when physicians diagnosed and treated “hysteria” in female patients by manually stimulating them by hand. This unusual medical period also overlapped with a time when electricity first became widely available in American homes and businesses.</div><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></div><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Such are the topics that converge to create the setting for Sarah Ruhl’s witty, thought-provoking comedy, “In The Next Room or The Vibrator Play,” which begins a three weekend run at the Black Box Theatre in Las Cruces opening <span dir="ltr">on Friday, April 19</span> and running <span dir="ltr">through May 5.</span></div><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></div><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Set during the 1880s in an upscale suburb of New York City, the play addresses subjects of sexuality and female emancipation relating to that period of history, but also deals with issues such as marriage, intimacy, infidelity, jealousy and race. While its themes are certainly adult oriented, anyone expecting an X-rated performance will be disappointed. As the playwright Ruhl herself noted, “It is very discreet. People hoping for something lurid or campy will be disappointed,” she said. “A lot of it happens under a sheet.”</div><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></div><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Nominated for three Tony Awards during its 2009 run on Broadway, the play was also a 2010 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in drama. </div><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">The current production at the Black Box is led by veteran Las Cruces director Joshua Taulbee and features well known local actors Rachel Thomas-Chappell and Cassandra Galban, plus William Harrold, Rachel Maze, Lisa Taylor, Dezz Martin, and Orlando Rodriguez. </div><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></div><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Performances are Fridays and Saturdays <span dir="ltr">at 8:00 p.m.</span>, Sundays <span dir="ltr">at 2:30 p.m.</span> (except <span dir="ltr">April 21</span>) and a special Thursday performance <span dir="ltr">on May 2 at 7:00 p.m.</span> Regular admission is $15; students and seniors are $12, and <span dir="ltr">Thursday evening</span>’s performance is $10. For more information visit the Black Box website at <span dir="ltr">no-strings.org</span> and for tickets, call the theatre at <span dir="ltr">575-523-1223</span>.</div><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr"></div></body></html>