There are not many plays about reproductive organs.
But "The Vagina Monologues" has achieved both critical and popular success for its enlightening, personal, sometimes poignant and often hilarious critiques and vignettes about that most intimate female body part.
As told through various stories and viewpoints about the vagina, the monologues were written from interviews with over 200 women worldwide. The research was collected and written as a play by Eve Ensler, and opened in New York City in 1995. It was also produced by HBO as a one-hour special.
The monologues discuss just about every aspect of the vagina, from masturbation to menstruation; to the sights, smells and feelings that have become universal to women everywhere.
"Women secretly love to talk about their vaginas," said one of the actresses in the first line of the play.
Well, these girls make it no secret.
Playing to a crowded, mostly female audience, 15 female students of UB's Department of Theatre and Dance dressed in red and black outfits, were able to shun away any shyness or inhibition regarding the vagina.
Many of the opening monologues dealt with women talking about getting to know their own vaginas, perhaps to ease the crowd into the often-intense performances,
One monologue compares her rediscovery of her vagina to gutting a fish.
"It's like when you open a fish and discover another bloody, complex world," the nameless character described.
Another character talked about the fact that there are parts of the United States where sex toys are outlawed.
"Over a dozen states ban sexual devices, but every one of these states sell guns," she said. "No murders have been committed with a vibrator."
Though the majority of the show consists of monologues, some of the funniest parts came in between the monologues, when the cast members would each recite one-word answers to the questions of the vagina interviews that served as the basis of the play.
When asked, "What do you call your vagina?" the 15 girls rattled off more names for their vaginas than Bubba could name recipes for shrimp.
Although every monologue had its moments, the crowd plain went nuts for the "Sex Worker Monologue," where a woman named and demonstrated just about every type of sexual moan known to mankind (or womankind), including the clitoral moan, the vaginal moan, the mountaintop moan, the WASP moan, the surprise-triple-orgasm moan and the machine gun moan, just to name a few.
The monologue earned a prolonged applause and many of the audience members gave it a standing ovation.
Presented by the Anti-Rape Task Force and the Department of Theatre and Dance, the play was directed by Lindsay Rogan, a theater and dance student.
As in years past, the students' production of the play was performed as a benefit performance as part of "V-Day," a day meant to be in recognition of violence against women.
Some of the heavier moments - including one monologue about the abuse of women in Bosnia and Kosovo - came as a little hard to swallow, and felt slightly out of place following the earlier light-hearted - thought brutally honest - monologues.
But these momentary dry spells were far outnumbered by the excellent performances of every cast member.
"The Vagina Monologues" runs through Feb. 7 at the Katherine Cornell Theatre in the Ellicott Complex. Tickets are $5 for students and $8 for the general public.
