I somehow managed to spend two and a half years at Smith without ever seeing The Vagina Monologues, but I’ve finally caved (I blame my deep and abiding love for my friends who are involved). I didn’t expect to like it- if I thought it would be good I would’ve gone years ago, but I decided to go anyway.
So here’s what I thought: it was ok. Emily was great, of course, and Jen was very good as well, even though she had a small part, and so insufficient opportunities to shine, but she looked beautiful. It was occasionally funny, and maybe a tiny bit moving (though the moving part was describing birth, which is cheating, since any birth-related thing is moving to me. I had a prenatal today and I almost teared up- it’s like shooting bears in the zoo), but also kind of squicky and tiresome (they kept calling things that aren’t vaginas vaginas, which irked me- those parts have names too!). Overall, I’d say it was a nice evening out, but that was largely because I sat with Maria and Scott (and Maria and I were shuttle bus ninjas, and easily caught the bus both ways, which is no small feat on the weekends), and I just enjoy their company. For a show that’s all about a pretty sexy body part it wasn’t terribly sexy, and some of the monologues felt really awkward (not because they were about vaginas, but because they weren’t very good stories). I’m glad I went, but I don’t think I’ll ever feel the need to go again. It’s unfair to criticize a play for not changing the way I view the world, but I can think of dozens of shows I’d rather see put on every year for Valentines Day.
