Tucson, AZ — Invisible Theatre launches its landmark 55th season with one of the most celebrated American comedies of the past two decades - In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play).
Written by Tony Award nominee and Pulitzer Prize Finalist Sarah Ruhl, and directed by Christina Walker, the play is set at the dawn of the electrical age in late 19th-century America, where Dr. Givings operates a clinical practice out of his home. Using a newly invented, electrically powered medical device, he treats female "hysteria" by inducing what the medical establishment of the day calls therapeutic "paroxysms." In the next room, his young wife Catherine listens through the walls — growing increasingly curious, and increasingly aware of something she cannot name.
Ruhl's play has lost none of its wit or its warmth. It remains as funny, surprising, and deeply moving as when it premiered on Broadway in 2009. What begins as pure comedy quietly becomes something more: a luminous, poetic meditation on intimacy, technology, and what it means to truly know another person.
In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play) runs for 90 minutes with one intermission. is recommended for 18 years and older and runs September 13–27, 2026. Previews September 13 and 15. Opening Night September 16. Tickets and information at invisibletheatre.com or by calling 520-882-9721.
Hannah Turner as Catherine Givings (on left), Alison Akmajian as Sabrina Daldry.
Photo Credit: Michael Craig
CAST
Dr. Givings: Josh Parra
Catherine Givings: Hannah Turner
Sabrina Daldry: Allison Akmajian
Mr. Daldry: Taylor Rascher
Elizabeth: Tanisha Ray
Annie: Kat Basso
Leo Irving: Sean Patrick
PRODUCTION STAFF
Director: Christina Walker
Producer: Betsy Kruse Craig
Stage Manager: Edith Craig
Scenic Design: Todd Poelstra, Silken Poelstra
Costume Design: Maryann Trombino
Sound Design: Rob Boone
Lighting Design: James Blair
Managing Artistic Director: Betsy Kruse Craig
Co-Managing Director: Linda Pierce
RUN DATES (9/13 - 9/27/26)
9/13 – Sun - 2:00pm
9/15 – Tue - 7:30pm
9/16 – Wed - 7:30pm
9/17 – Thur - 7:30pm
9/18 – Fri - 7:30 pm
9/19 – Sat- 2:00pm
9/20 – Sun - 2:00pm
9/23 – Wed - 7:30pm
9/24 – Thur - 7:30pm
9/25 – Fri - 7:30 pm
9/26 – Sat - 2:00pm - 7:30pm
9/27 – Sun - 2:00pm
SARAH RUHL (PLAYWRIGHT):
Sarah Ruhl is an award-winning American playwright, author, essayist, and professor. Her plays include The Oldest Boy, Dear Elizabeth, Stage Kiss, In the Next Room, or the vibrator play (Pulitzer Prize finalist, 2010); The Clean House (Pulitzer Prize finalist, 2005; Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, 2004); Passion Play (Pen American Award, Fourth Freedom Forum Playwriting Award from the Kennedy Center); Dead Man’s Cell Phone (Helen Hayes Award for Best New Play); Melancholy Play; Demeter in the City (nine NAACP Image Award nominations); Scenes From Court Life; How to Transcend a Happy Marriage, For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday; Eurydice; Orlando; and Late: a cowboy song. Her plays have been produced on Broadway and across the country as well as internationally and translated into fourteen languages. Originally from Chicago, Ms. Ruhl received her M.F.A. from Brown University, where she studied with Paula Vogel. She is the recipient of a Helen Merrill Emerging Playwrights Award, a Whiting Writers’ Award, a PEN Center Award for mid-career playwrights, a Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award, and a Lilly award. She is a member of 13P and New Dramatists and won the MacArthur Fellowship in 2006. She teaches at Yale School of Drama and lives in Brooklyn with her family. (Official Headshot by Greg Constanzo)
CHRISTINA WALKER (DIRECTOR)
Christina Walker is thrilled to be working with Invisible Theatre for the first time! While she may be new to Invisible Theatre, Christina is no stranger to the Tucson theatre community. After earning her degree from the University of Washington, she taught acting, voice & movement, and theatre history at Pima Community College for more than 12 years, while also spending 17 years acting, directing, and working behind the scenes with theatres in Tucson and Seattle. Most recently, she directed Silent Sky at Live Theatre Workshop. She has also directed A Tucson Pastorela at Borderlands Theater three times and Tucson’s first production of The Vagina Monologues, which played to a rowdy, sold-out house at the Rialto Theatre. Favorite acting roles include Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Shakespeare Under the Stars and PCC, Boo in Blue Window at MetaTheater, and Hazel in Rooted at Live Theatre Workshop. Christina has been fortunate to work with many wonderful Tucson theatre companies over the years, (including aka Theater, MetaTheater, Quintessential Productions, and Damesrocket Theater) many of which, sadly, are no longer around! After taking some time away from theatre to raise her amazing daughter, Christina is delighted to be back and grateful to be making theatre again.
A MESSAGE FROM BETSY KRUSE CRAIG
Fifty-five years ago, a small theatre opened its doors in Tucson with a big idea: that the most powerful stories are told in intimate spaces, where the audience and the performer share a uniquely special experience. Invisible Theatre is proud of giving our community some of the finest theatrical experiences in Tucson, and this season, we are celebrating it.
We are launching our 55 for 55 Campaign — an effort to raise $55,000 by December 31, 2026 in honor of our 55th Season. We are asking fans, friends, donors, and believers in our work to make a gift of any size before the year ends. Together, those gifts will fuel everything you love about Invisible Theatre — the daring productions, the remarkable artists, and the irreplaceable experience of sitting in our little house and feeling something shift inside of you.
This year alone, you helped us produce six extraordinary productions — from the wit and elegance of Oh Coward! to the comedic and poignant The Cake to the hilarity of the Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help. You helped us welcome new artists into our community and send them back out into the world more confident, more skilled, and more certain that what they do matters. You helped us to tell stories that changed perspectives and brought communities together.
Thank you to everyone who has supported our 55 years of integrity, creativity and relevance. We aren't going anywhere! Help us continue for the next 55 years! Donate here: https://ci.ovationtix.com/32555/store/donations
THE INVISIBLE THEATRE
The Invisible Theatre (IT) of Tucson, a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, is dedicated to producing quality theatre and arts education experiences for all facets of the community, in an intimate setting that showcases local professional talent and guest artists. Started in 1971 as an arena for local playwrights, the theatre has expanded its programs to include adaptations of classics and recent Off- Broadway plays and musicals, while continuing to encourage new playwrights through both full productions and stage readings. Our award-winning arts education program for special needs children focuses on ability rather than dwelling on disability. Our commitment to artistic excellence, diversity, equity, inclusion and quality has made the Invisible Theatre a very visible force in the local, national, and international arts scene.
Tickets are also available 24/7 through AudienceView at www.invisibletheatre.com.
Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express are accepted.
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