What is The Vagina Monologues?

Hailed by The New York Times as "funny" and "poignant" and by the Daily News as "intelligent" and "courageous", The Vagina Monologues, which was first performed off-Broadway by Ms. Ensler, dives into the mystery, humor, pain, power, wisdom, outrage, and excitement buried in women’s experiences, and introduces a wildly divergent gathering of female voices. Ms. Ensler has performed the play to great acclaim throughout the world--from Zagreb to Santa Barbara, from London to Seattle, from Jerusalem to Oklahoma City.

Ensler wrote the play The Vagina Monologues after conducting interviews with more than 200 women about their sexuality, their bodies and their stories of violence and sexual abuse. "I was talking to a friend about menopause, and we got on to the subject of our vaginas, and I was sort of wondering what other women thought. So I just started talking to friends, and one thing led to another," The power of Ensler's play comes from talking about issues that for centuries have been taboo.

Villard Books/Random House first published The Vagina Monologues, which includes a foreword by Gloria Steinem, in February 1998. A special V‑Day edition of the play was released in February 2001.

What else has the press said about The Vagina Monologues?

"If Ms. Ensler is the messiah heralding the second wave of feminism, and a lot of people think she is, it is partly because she's a brilliant comedian…The audience…was overwhelmingly adoring." -New York Times

"The most exhilarating part is, no kidding, her extremely virtuosic way with a series of orgasmic moans…Ensler, a writer-performer with a good-natured but seriously evangelical mission about this body part, must be enjoying her success in getting the word out on such a legendarily unmentionable, mythologized and misunderstood fact of life&hellip"-New York Newsday

Ensler breaks taboosby talking, talking and talking some more—stripping fear and shame from what she celebrates here. It makes for quitea party. Funny, outrageous,emotionally affecting, and occasionally angry…The Vagina Monologues confront words to demystify and disarm them. In so doing, Ensler disarms the audience too." -Associated Press