The Vagina Monologues

First, I am reminded of that Friends episode with Jon Lovitz as the stoned restaurateur, who blissfully repeats "tartlets, tartlets, tartlets," and remarks, "the word has lost all meaning." Which is how you'll feel about the word "vagina" after watching Eve Ensler's performance piece (and which may partly be the point). Second, I fondly recall the SCTV sketch with Andrea Martin and Catherine O'Hara as the stars of "I'm Taking My Own Head, and Screwing It On Straight and No Guy's Gonna Tell Me That It Ain't," a show for women "and some men." And that sums up The Vagina Monologues, born from interviews Ensler conducted with more than 200 women of all ages, sexual orientations, and walks of life. A theatrical phenomenon performed throughout the country, usually with a rotating cast, Ensler reclaimed the show for herself in this one-woman original HBO production. She begins with a meditation on the word itself, which provokes myriad responses that are "surprising, outrageous, disturbing and exciting." It is a word, she states, that "never sounds like a word you want to say." But say it she does in a series of monologues that are comic, heartbreaking, and harrowing. Linking the monologues are new interview segments, as well as Ensler's commentary about the women who inspired the 1996 off-off-Broadway play. We're in Venus-Mars territory here, but there's no question that for its audience, it can be a liberating and empowering experience. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Lee Benson)