Even if you’ve never seen “The Vagina Monologues” performed live, you’re almost certainly familiar with its title. The groundbreaking episodic play has been staged countless times in over 140 countries around the world, and now Eve Ensler, the Tony Award-winning playwright behind the work, is set to return to the New York Stage, The Hollywood Reporter confirms. “In the Body of the World,” an adaptation of her 2013 memoir, has been added to the Manhattan Theatre Club’s 2017–18 season, with previews set for January 16 at New York City Center Stage I, and opening night slated for February 6.
According to THR, the solo play depicts Ensler’s experience “being diagnosed with a life-threatening illness while working with women in the war-ravaged Democratic Republic of Congo.” Tony winner Diane Paulus (“Pippin”) will direct. “The show was first presented in May last year at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Mass., where Paulus is artistic director,” THR writes.
“The Vagina Monologues” began its Off-Broadway run in 1996 at the Broadway Westside Theatre after a limited run at HERE Arts Center. The feminist play deals with subject matter such as sexual assault, menstruation, and sex work.
Ensler was honored at the 2017 Athena Film Festival, a celebration of women and leadership. She serves as a producer on “Her Story,” an Emmy-nominated web series following the romantic lives of two trans women played by Jen Richards and Angelica Ross.
