“˜Vagina Monolgue’ creator brings sharp new show to stage

Doing heroin the night before her SATs doesn’t exactly
earn her a gold medal in good behavior, but Eve Ensler maintains
that she has always tried to be good. She also affirms that writing
her name on the SAT really did earn her 200 points.

Ensler shares this and much more in her new one-woman show,
“The Good Body,” playing through Sunday at the
Wadsworth Theatre in Brentwood. A portion of the proceeds from the
show will go to V Day, Ensler’s campaign to stop violence
against women.

Some may recognize Ensler as the writer of the phenomenally
successful play, “The Vagina Monologues,” which people
either loved, squirmed and sweated through, or just plain
avoided.

But Ensler’s new show does not focus on the female nether
region. Rather, she goes all over the place and explores the entire
body.

Ensler takes the audience on a journey around the world in her
quest for the meaning of the good body. She plays everything from a
young girl at fat camp complaining about “skinny
bitches”, to an Afghan woman holding a modern day speakeasy
to eat ice cream, to an African woman who cannot fathom
anyone’s dislike for his or her own body.

And she pulls off character change with a surprising grace by
grasping a wide array of accents and personas. Some characters may
seem mildly cliche or unoriginal ““ the model who married the
plastic surgeon who created her and the woman obsessed with her
body piercings ““ but she makes up for it with other gripping,
show-stealing characters such as the Latina woman who claims to
have coined the term “lift and tuck,” or the older
woman who visits a vaginal rejuvenation center to please her
husband.

The set is reminiscent of a high school theater stage, with a
few scattered seats, props and a very accessible costume rack, and
the lighting and sound effects are far from complex. But
that’s the point. It’s about the monologues, the women
and her own personal story.

Ensler weaves in her own plight of being a radical feminist
surprisingly obsessed with her not-so-flat stomach. The yoga ball
is her beloved prop with which she displays her sit-up savvy, and
many of her characters chronicle Ensler’s own body
issues.

This is what makes Ensler and “The Good Body,” so
accessible and enjoyable. While she may make valiant efforts to set
herself apart and foster feminism, in many ways she is just as
insecure as the next guy. Or girl.

She negates many misconceptions about feminists or strong modern
women, showing they come in all forms and from all backgrounds. And
the show is not annoyingly didactic. She doesn’t lecture.
Before you have time to finish laughing or gasping, she’s on
to another story.

Ensler is famous for her very daring and disquieting nature, and
in this show, she does not disappoint. Her character is most
evident in the way she uses words. Her insight into women, sex and
life is evident with her hilarious quotable quotes. The
show’s strengths truly lie in her monologue, which is
perpetually shocking and wildly amusing.

Ensler’s wicked wit in the writing and performance of
“The Good Body” make it a worthwhile trip out of
Westwood. She earns more than 200 points, because she does far more
than merely show up. She entertains.