Sweet Love

With a name like The Vagina Monologues, the Columbia University Medical Center’s annual show is sure to raise a few eyebrows.

But there is no need to be afraid, only intrigued.

This show is unique, a long way off from what we are used to seeing in a production. Playwright Eve Ensler based the script on 200 interviews she held with women on topics ranging from relationships and sex to body image and violence against women. The result is not only refreshing, but eye-opening.

The show is the inspiration for and an integral part of V-Day, a movement to end violence against girls and women. All profits will go to the Voices of Women Organizing Project, a non-profit organization whose goal is to empower survivors of domestic violence and provide support and assistance for women and children who are being abused.

The Vagina Monologues is an event that brings together the entire University under the umbrella of a good cause. Thursday’s performance will also include a special cameo appearance by Barnard President Debora Spar, who was approached by the show’s directors a few months ago to read an enthralling monologue about the current situation in the Congo.

“She immediately responded with interest,” director and co-producer Julia Bürgi, BC ’11, said. “It’s hard not to be gripped by it—it’s a beautiful and incredibly sad piece.”