Gettin' it on with The Vagina Monologues

By Alicia Hernandez     2/12/09 6:00pm

Mushmellow. Powderbox. Coochi snorcher. Cunt. Dignity. Gladys Siegelman. Vagina. Orgasmic moans. Frank testimony. Righteous anger. You name it, The Vagina Monologues has it.Because it is mostly bare, the stage of The Vagina Monologues is set for good acting. Costumes are simple black outfits with small touches of red. The lighting is simple. Ultimately, the show is an intimate experience between the audience and the actresses.

Thankfully, most of the actresses do a great job. Brown College junior Caroline Turner in "My Angry Vagina" provides comic relief and a wonderful performance as she talks about tampons, douches and visits to the gynecologist. Hanszen College junior Teresa Bayer, the only double-cast actress, provides credible and adorable performances in "They Beat the Girl Out of My Boy . Or So They Tried" and "A Six-Year-Old Girl Was Asked .", respectively.

Hanszen senior Abbie Ryan, in "The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy," shows the most commitment, especially as she moans her way from an "almost" to a "triple orgasm." Her monologue, one of the last, is probably the most memorable. Although the acting is not always great, the rousing performances of Turner, Bayer, Ryan and many others compensate for those more novice actresses.

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While many of the pieces result in squeals of laughter, there are also quite a few serious ones. Although audiences usually dread these monologues because they deal with rape and violence, the actresses make their cases without making the audience so overly uncomfortable. They are serious, yes, but very watchable. In "My Vagina Was My Village," Hanszen freshman Kat Skilton provides a touching look into a raped Bosnian woman's ordeal. Lovett College senior Allie Janda, in "The Little Coochi Snorcher That Could," one of the most entertaining monologues of the night, gives a frank talk about her sexual encounters as a child. Several other serious or semi-serious monologues are presented, and each is dealt just the right mix of sensitivity and frankness. Potential attendees should not be scared away by seriousness; in The Vagina Monologues, it works.

The overall production of the show is decent; symbolic touches and stupendous acting carry the show. Unfortunately, the novice directing of Brown senior Amy Bridges and Brown junior Keisha Harrison is visible and at times distracting, especially with a few, scattered monologues that are weak and lack commitment. Adding on to such weaknesses is a superfluous chalkboard that requires lots of help moving on and off the stage. For a play with a maximum of three props per monologue, the transitions are sometimes very long, interrupting the show's fluidity. On the bright side, the audience will forget all about these transitions 10 seconds into each monologue.

And the directing is not all bad; Bridges and Harrison have their strong points. The splotches of red found in the costumes, set and lighting do provide continuity and a nice motif. Furthermore, the performance is quite tactful for its subject matter, which will not alienate the men in the audience. As a virgin to The Vagina Monologues, I had previously shied away from hearing about my "down-there." This show, however, was entertaining. Although empowering by nature, it never became militant. It is definitely a great choice for a Valentine's Day date or an outing with friends.

A fair, if somewhat obvious warning, is that the show uses strong language. The world "cunt," for example, has an entire monologue attached to it. Nevertheless, the tactfulness of the show and the instances of wonderful acting make The Vagina Monologues a great performance.

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