Vagina Monologues arrive at City Theatre

“The Vagina Monologues” Directed by Tracy Bridgen Starring: Holli Hamilton, Erica… “The Vagina Monologues” Directed by Tracy Bridgen Starring: Holli Hamilton, Erica Bradshaw, Laurie Klatscher City Theatre: 1300 Bingham Street, South Side Tonight through Feb. 17 Tickets: $30-$40, limited number of $15 student tickets available 412-431-CITY (2489)

It’s the show that taught women to talk about “down there” without such prudish euphemisms. Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues” tackles two feminist points: raising awareness about violence toward women and embracing female sexuality in an empowering way.

Tracy Bridgen directs the show, which runs at City Theatre tonight through Feb. 17. She took time out to chat with The Pitt News about feedback from Ensler, the two gifted actresses she’s worked with in the past and the message behind the monologues.

A play with such social impact would seem daunting to direct. After all, “The Vagina Monologues” all but snatched Valentine’s Day from greeting card companies – 10 years ago, the show redubbed Feb. 14 as “V-Day” to counter violence against women.

V-day’s 10 -year anniversary bash on the weekend of April 11 is set to take place at the New Orleans Arena and Louisiana Superdome and features celebrities ranging from Oprah Winfrey to Joss Stone. Yet Bridgen wasn’t intimidated to direct Ensler’s play-turned-global movement.

“You always direct the play for that moment and that audience and that time in our world … and you can’t really direct thinking about the zeitgeist of the play’s history,” Bridgen said. “You just have to think about telling the best story that you can every time.”

She should know. Bridgen has some experience telling the stories Ensler pens. Of “The Vagina Monologues”‘ three actresses, Bridgen led Klatscher and Bradshaw last season in Ensler’s, “The Good Body,” a play about women confronting image issues and accepting their bodies as beautiful.

Differences in staging and presentation distinguish “The Vagina Monologues” from “The Good Body.” For one, the actresses deliver their monologues on stools, so the movement and costume changes of “The Good Body” are nixed for a greater focus on the words spoken.

“We’re going to do it the way Eve performed it herself and the way that it was performed when it toured around,” Bridgen said. “It’s really about the words. They’ll still assume different characters in their delivery and in their voices.”

She added that the actresses developed a working cast chemistry during “The Good Body” that’s sure to translate into the group sections of “The Vagina Monologues.”

“There are some sections that the group does together, like the listing of what would your vagina say if it could talk and what would it wear,” Bridgen said, “and these ladies are very bonded from our experience doing “The Good Body.” They really trust each other, and that allows them to go out on a limb and create these different voices without feeling intimidated to take chances.”

“The Vagina Monologues” sometimes comes to life through a single actress reading all the parts – the way Ensler first performed the show herself – and other times utilizes the voices of three actresses or a different actress for each monologue. Ensler discussed the pros and cons of each format and what makes City Theatre’s three-woman show so powerful.

“I saw Eve do it on Broadway … and I think there’s something very tour de force about having one person doing all of those characters,” Bridgen said, “but what’s missing without multiple voices is – especially in the sections like the lists – there’s not that mosaic of voices joining together