"The Vagina Monologues," an internationally acclaimed play by Eve Ensler, is multi-layered and insightful. It makes you laugh. It makes you gasp. It embarrasses. It provokes.
Produced by Amanda Parker '07, "The Vagina Monologues" debuted to a receptive audience Thursday night at Alumnae Hall. Though the almost 50 female cast members effectively covered the complicated aspects of womanhood and vaginas, the play was disrupted at times by cast members' occasionally awkward motions and line delivery. These distractions diverted viewers from the play's otherwise brilliant dialogue and performance.
The play is structured as a series of monologues that cover a full spectrum of experiences women can have with their vaginas. It ranges from the shocking - in a scene about reclaiming the word "cunt," for example - to the dramatic, including stories about rape and sexual abuse.
In doing this, "The Vagina Monologues" successfully fulfills its mission to not only enlighten audience members about the vagina, but also to give the vagina itself a voice - to tell a story about its intricacies and idiosyncrasies.
The monologue "The Flood," about an elderly lady's traumatic experience with her vagina and the indignity that resulted from it, illustrates how one simple story can communicate the complications of being a woman who's ashamed of her vagina. Without having it spelled out, the monologue understands the social stigma attached to vaginas, a crisis that the play tries to resolve by vividly bringing it to people's attention. The word vagina is still taboo in today's society, but what the play and what each cast member tries to do in her performance is to get the word out there.
"The Flood," as recited by Kelly Dreher '08, was a notable highlight of the play. Dreher translated the thorny emotions of her character through the resonance of her voice - her performance wasn't over-acted, but simple and true. She did exactly what should be done in this play, letting the words speak over the acting.
Cast members' deep attachment to their characters sometimes resulted in overdone performances. In addition, ineffective transitions - which were performed as a succession of lines delivered by several cast members - made the play occasionally confusing while trying to follow the line of thought from one speaker to another.
Other times, cast members tried to do too much with their characters. In the monologue "Hair," Daphne Beers '08 talks about the process of shaving her pubic hair, as she shaves her legs. Though the action accentuated the point she was trying to make, it seemed unnecessary and too obvious.
The play's overarching theme was best summed up by one of the final monologues, "The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy." As three cast members recited different types of orgasmic moans - a diva's moan, a Brown student's moan, a Jewish woman's moan - audience members gasped and giggled, the exact reaction that the play intends.
Even though the monologues will startle audiences with provocative messages, the play is still approachable. It's not preachy about womanhood, but only asks that women embrace themselves by embracing their vaginas.
The play is sponsored by the Sarah Doyle Women's Center, Miko Exoticwear, and V-Day, an organization that aims to stop violence against women.
