The first time I heard of The Vagina Monologues, it was being parodied on Saturday Night Live when I was about eight years old. The show was new then, and I did not really think twice about it, other than that I knew it was a topic of conversation. It was not until college that I saw the Monologues performed: three times at Brandeis and once at another college. The stories are entertaining, but I'm not entirely convinced that the Monologues is as empowering for the audience as it is for cast members.

In the Monologues, a lot of the pieces are now outdated—after all, the show was first performed in 1996. For example, violence against women and rape as a weapon of war is still relevant, but the conflict in Bosnia (in the piece "My Vagina Was My Village") is unfortunately not a conflict that audience members in 2012 are entirely familiar with. The show too simplistically suggests that there is a sort of cross-cultural sisterhood among women through their connections to their vaginas. I think that there should be more of a place for men in the show that does not leave female audience members resenting all males.

With that said, my issues with The Vagina Monologues have nothing to do with Brandeis' production of the show this past weekend, but with the creator, Eve Ensler's, original work. The 30 cast members blew me away with their investment in each of their characters, a task I imagine would be difficult given we college students have comparatively few shared experiences with the portrayed characters.

An early standout performance was that of Laura Ben "LB" Moore '14. She recited "Hair," the story of a woman whose husband requested she shave "down there," regardless of her positive feelings toward her hair. Moore seemed completely comfortable on stage, and her performance was more like watching a seasoned storyteller than an actor giving a performance.

Maya Grant '13, who followed soon after, performed "The Flood," an elderly woman's account of her fears of her own sexuality after an embarrassing situation she had the first time she was kissed. Grant, dressed in a long floral dress, was seated in her chair during the entirety of the performance but still engaged the audience through the humorous accent she gave her character. At one moment, I completely believed that Grant was a 72-year-old woman infatuated with Burt Reynolds.

Jemesh Hunter '15 shined in "My Angry Vagina," as she yelled her frustrations over hospital gowns, tampons and long underwear not being appropriately comfortable and elegant as her vagina would appreciate. Hunter gleamed with confidence with every stomp of her four-inch heels.

The highlight of the show for me, and probably for a lot of audience members, was Marisa Turesky's '13 brilliant interpretation of "The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy." In the past, I remember feeling slightly ill at ease watching my fellow classmates moan on stage, but Turesky's humor and comfort in the spotlight convinced me that several minutes of fake orgasms in the Carl J. Shapiro Theater was natural.

The entire cast was fantastic because of the obvious level of comfort they had reached together. It seems to me that The Vagina Monologues is empowering for the cast members in that they establish close bonds and meaningful friendships in the process of putting on the show together. It was nice to to see how supportive and excited the actresses were when their colleagues performed.

Over the years, it has been interesting to see new students take on the roles that I, along with anyone else who has seen the show before, know well.

In addition to my aforementioned criticism, I feel that The Vagina Monologues does not inspire many in-depth conversations after its viewing. I hope that in the future the show is replaced by a show with similar themes, but that is more relevant to the women of 2012.

However, while we wait for the next wave of feminism and off-Broadway sensation, the University's production of The Vagina Monologues will suffice.

Director Meg Evans '12 and coordinator Sarah Steele '12 did an excellent job of putting on a really terrific show that, despite my having seen it three other times, kept me entertained and proud of my fellow Brandesians.