Vagina friendly evening had by all

The audience walked into Cohen Auditorium and was greeted with a sea of black and red. They were entering a world of vagina fever. As the lights dimmed, the ushers began to yell 'Vagina!' and with that, TheVagina Monologues began.

TheVagina Monologues, under the direction of Meredith Gilbert and Rebecca McCormick, was an evening of monologues with a variety of themes, each presenting another woman's search for herself and her relationship with her vagina. It seems fitting that The Vagina Monologues is performed around Valentine's Day. While Feb. 14 finds many enveloped in defining and living romantic love, oftentimes realities are overlooked: Some women are in abusive relationships, others feel unfulfilled, and still more remain alone and scared. However, the ultimate tone of the show is not one of defeat, but rather of poignant celebration.

The cast included women of all ages, races, ethnicities, and backgrounds, each bringing her own perspective to the evening. Amy West, in her performance of a monologue entitled "The Flood," created a moving depiction of an older woman's decision to never pursue any type of romantic relationship as the result of a horrifyingly embarrassing sexual experience. West managed to both keep the audience laughing and still convey the underlying message of the piece.

Jill Beirne provided a loud, provocative performance of "My Angry Vagina" that had the audience in fits of laughter. Her strong stage presence and witty commentary brought to light some painfully obvious, yet mostly non-discussed phenomena about vaginas. Beirne raged against smells, sensations, and even tampons.

Zeleka Yeraswork's performance of "The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy", which told of one woman's love for moans, and told of several types of moans, ranging from one sounding like a dog to another resembling an opera singer, left the audience whistling and applauding.

However, not all of the subject matter was humorous. Many pieces reminded the whole community of why the money raised by this event went to the Massachusetts Eating Disorder Association, Inc., EMERGE, and the Indian Country Project to help stop violence against women.

Rachel Marx and Kim Harbin portrayed women from Kosovo who were raped during war in a piece entitled "My Vagina Was My Village."

Lisa Coleman's "Crooked Braid" looked closely at a Native American woman in an abusive relationship. Her voice was deep and her emotions were strong, leaving the audience holding its breath for her next words.

Melissa Rosen sat on the edge of the stage and recited "I Was in the Room," one of author Eve Ensler's newer monologues. It spoke of Ensler's experience watching her grandchild being born and her awe of how the vagina can expand into a tunnel for life.

For the first time at Tufts, TheVagina Monologues presented a new perspective on vaginas, that of those who don't even have them: men. Vincent Miccio, Craig Wenner, and Dan Hoagland spoke their minds on the subjects of sex, love, relationships, abuse, women, and men. The men posed questions to re-evaluate assumptions on sex and violence, specifically bringing into consideration the issue of intent. Characteristic of the evening, humor was used to enliven personal experience. As earlier monologues examined the perspectives of heterosexuals, homosexuals, singles, couples, different races, and ethnicities, it was only appropriate to bring a man's perspective to light. With their unique ideas, the men added much to this great performance.

As the evening came to a close, Rebecca McCormick and Jean Manney presented their final vision of a world without abuse. The monologue was a mix of spoken word and the song "Somewhere over the Rainbow." It was a touching end to the evening and provided a perfect summary of the show's message. They simply sang "If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow, why oh why, can't I?"