Vaginas on parade in 'Monologues'

BY HOLLY KLINE

ILIANA BOUZALI/YH

The Vagina Monologues was originally created by Eve Ensler in 1997 and began as a series of hundreds of interviews with females of all ages. Women responded to such questions as "What do you call your vagina?" ("monkey box," "coochie snorcher," "nappy dugout," "Connie"), "If your vagina got dressed, what would it wear?" ("emeralds," "Armani only," "a red bow"), and "If your vagina could talk, what would it say, in two words?" ("Feed me," "Let's play," "Remember me?"). After she completed her interviews-cum-monologues, Ensler staged the first production of "The Vagina Monologues" as a solo show. Since then, it has been adapted to three separate roles and has grown into an international phenomenon. Women everywhere want a piece of the action, and the list of celebrities who have performed the Monologues reads like a "Who's Who in Hollywood" list: Winona Ryder, Ricki Lake, Calista Flockhart, Glenn Close, Lara Flynn Boyle, Cate Blanchett, Naomi Campbell, and Alanis Morissette just to name a few.

Visually, the production is very simple. The curtain opens on three women, each seated on a tall black stool. The only other props are three tables, three red coffee mugs, and the cue cards that the actresses use as references. The visual uniformity of the set extends to the wardrobes of the actresses: each is dressed in black pants, bright red t-shirts, and bare feet. The lighting is dim, with a single spotlight illuminating the actress speaking. The script consists of a series of monologues interspersed with fun facts about the vagina, answers to interview questions, and playful banter between the actresses.

In the New Haven run of The Vagina Monologues, Patricia Hearst performs as the special guest, accompanying Amy Love and Tracey Leigh, who both travel with the show. Renowned as heir to the Hearst fortune and as the 1974 kidnapping victim of a terrorist group known as the Symbionese Liberation Army, Hearst has led an unusual and highly publicized life. Claiming to be brainwashed by the SLA and forced to rob a bank, Hearst was later convicted for grand theft and served two years in prison before being released by former President Jimmy Carter and later pardoned by former President Bill Clinton, LAW '73. Since the turbulent days of her youth, Hearst has appeared in several movies and television shows, but has never before tried her hand at theatre. Her inexperience was apparent, especially considering the two fiery superwomen-Love and Leigh-who flanked her. Granted, Hearst only rehearsed with the rest of the cast for a few hours prior to the performance, so her tentativeness was understandable. As the production continued, she seemed to hit her stride, adopting some of the bawdy, sexy confidence of her co-stars. The high point of her performance was a monologue entitled "The Vagina Workshop," in which her character gradually sheds her inhibitions during a group masturbation session (involving hand mirrors and instructions to "Become your clitoris"). Hearst ends the piece with a pretty credible fake orgasm and a knowing smile. She may not be as polished as her costars, but she is definitely no shrinking violet.

And speaking of convincing, Amy Love turns in a performance of amazing versatility. When she first speaks, her high-pitched voice, blonde hair, and small stature squeal "little girl." But with her first monologue, "The Flood," Love proves that she can age decades within the space of several seconds. She recounts the story of a 72-year-old woman who has never had an orgasm in a dead-on Queens accent, slouching down in her stool, screwing up her face, and referring only obliquely to her vagina as `down there.' The monologue is at turns funny and touching, as Love tells how her character's first experience with sexuality-involving embarrassing "flooding" problems-scarred her so greatly that she went through life hesitant to seek intimacy and thus expose herself to ridicule. As wonderfully as she conveys pathos, Love shines most brightly with humor. In "The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy," she delivers an achingly funny monologue from the point of view of an ex-lawyer turned lesbian sex therapist that involves an extended demonstration of the various types of female moans (among them the WASP moan, the machine-gun moan, the Janis Joplin moan, and the uninhibited militant bisexual moan). She finishes with a rowdy, hilarious pantomime of a triple orgasm, nearly sliding off her stool before breathlessly composing herself. As she looks back at the audience, she casually quips, "Was it good for you?"

But as funny as Love is, it's Tracey Leigh who steals the show. Her captivatingly sensual, voluptuous looks immediately draw the eye, and her performance is as sexy, nuanced, and gutsy as her appearance suggests. In "Reclaiming Cunt," her rendition of an aggressively feminist woman who seeks to reappropriate the pejorative "cunt" leaves the audience gasping for breath. Leigh demonstrates not only her acting range but also her vocal prowess in this monologue, which finishes with an operatic rendering of the word in all its symbolic glory. One of the most impressive aspects of Leigh's performance is her command of accents and personas. In "The Little Coochie Snorcher that Could," for example, Leigh adopts the mannerisms and personality of an adolescent southern girl of color, telling the wrenching story of a woman who is taught to love her body by an older female after being sexually abused as a young child. She literally transforms herself before the eyes of the audience and crafts an utterly absorbing fictional world.

The power of The Vagina Monologues derives from a fusion of the words of the women whom Ensler interviewed and the sensitive recreations delivered by the actresses. But it is the interaction between cast and audience that adds the crackling energy that much theater lacks. Throughout the performance, audience members of all ages unite in laughter, identification, and compassion, drawn together by the common experience of being female. The play provides many women with an outlet for their sexuality, as the cast experienced in El Paso, Tex. After the show on Tuesday, Love commented that the El Paso audience, which was comprisedprinci-

pallyof members of a sexually conservative Hispanic Catholic community, howled with excessive laughter during the entire show. She concluded that The Vagina Monologues gave these women the rare opportunity to frankly contemplate and enjoy themselves as sexual beings.

The Vagina Monologues covers the spectrum of the female experience, dealing with rape, sex, love, abuse, and birth with surprising clarity. But it succeeds not only because it includes a range of interesting and varied perspectives, but also because it manages to avoid several potential pitfalls. Although its impact stems largely from its provocative, taboo subject matter, it never degenerates into a mere excuse to shock with dirty words. It also avoids becoming either a group therapy session or a complaint forum. Finally, and most important, the production lacks the overtly feminist, man-hating tone that many expect. Instead of adopting a militant, oppositional stance, the play simply celebrates the sheer wonder of being female. It seeks not to alienate men, but rather to unite and empower women.

When the show ended, every woman leaving the theater must have felt sexy, confident, and proud of her femininity—and, yes, more comfortable with vaginas. It is a powerful production that can touch its audience so deeply and universally.

A $10 portion of each ticket is donated to V-Day, an organization that helps groups working to end violence against women. Discounted student tickets are available for $19.50 at the Shubert box office 2 hours prior to showtime.

Showtimes: Fri., Sept. 21, 8 p.m.; Sat., Sept. 22, 2 p.m. & 8 p.m; Sun., Sept. 23, 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.

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