Theater Company of Lafayette does justice to Eve Ensler’s ever-popular play

Currently on stage at Theater Company of Lafayette, The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler is a pulsing ninety-minute ride that never strays far from its intended target – women and their struggles and inner strength.  Yes, descriptive words are abundant for the vagina in the play. Still, they are used in a fashion to tell the stories that women seem to have been waiting to hear since The Vagina Monologues first opened in New York City nearly three decades ago. This production does not disappoint.

The play is composed of 14 monologues, each acted out by a different woman. It covers sexual experiences, body image and prostitution, among other themes. Ensler wrote the play after interviewing 200 women about their views on these and other topics. Theater Company of Lafayette Artistic Director Madge Montgomery, Hannah Richards and Cristina Twigg co-direct the production, and each performs a monologue along with their directorial duties.

Christina Twigg

Slow start

The evening got off to a somewhat slow start, even though it was met with an enthusiastic response from the audience. However, it immediately picked up speed with the performance by Theater Company of Lafayette favorite Munam Goodwyn and “My Vagina Was My Village.” It’s an emotion-filled piece about the violent rape camps of the Bosnian war, delivering a haunting presentation that underscored the brutal realities faced by many women.

“My Angry Vagina,” performed by Savannah Vedovatti, is a full-out rant regarding the discomfort a vagina (and women) must endure from menstruation products, gynecological exams and cleansing products. Vedovatti’s performance was met with ever-increasing recognition by the women in the audience as they related to each injustice their vaginas must endure.

As a sex worker, “The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy” was an elevated point of the evening, performed by an incredibly high-strung Danielle Bailey. She uses the entire stage to make her point about pleasuring other women. Deservedly, her performance was met with thunderous applause by the audience.

Marcy Rodney

A helpful chorus

Along with the individual presentations, a chorus of women (Acy Jackson, Maggie Wingate and Jaccie Serbus) guides the audience throughout the play. They open and close several separate pieces and lend a universal voice to the action. Their contribution is a welcome addition, breaking up the high-intensity back-to-back monologues.

The three monologues mentioned above are merely a smattering of what the entire play offers. The Vagina Monologues has an accomplished cast and memorable demonstrations of women and their empowerment, vulnerability and resilience. Not only is it an entertaining 90 minutes, but the play initially led to the creation of V-Day — a worldwide movement meant to end violence against women and girls.

Montgomery, Richards and Twigg directed the performances beautifully, capturing individual stories that contrast and complement each other. Each monologue has its own tone and never repeats itself. Although, ultimately, it is about the spoken word, the physical rendering of the piece was somewhat obscure and, at times, distracting from the action on stage. While visually appealing, the colorful backdrop occasionally distracted from the action on stage. A bare stage might have served the play’s raw and intimate nature better.

In today’s climate of renewed focus on women’s rights and gender equality, The Vagina Monologues remains a vital and resonant piece of theatre, maybe now more so than when it first appeared in 1996. The audience was engaged and enthusiastic about the subject matter at the performance I saw. With only one more weekend to play, Theater Company of Lafayette has struck an essential chord through its storytelling, giving voice to a subject matter that is often overlooked or silenced.