Girl power!

The theatre is packed; the air is electric, and all around women are pulsing with power. This is the Tawes Theatre at the University of Maryland (UMD) where, last weekend, the Feminist Activists presented a modified version of Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues as part of the annual V-Day campaign to empower women.

Ensler's original script is based on interviews held with women from all different backgrounds. It is a potent work showing women's strengths and weaknesses, their struggles and their defeats. The idea is to empower women, to free them from oppression and to stop violence against them. In a series of monologues, Ensler, who performs the show solo, delivers a tour de force to knock any chauvinist to his knees.

At UMD, some of the monologues were condensed and a few more recent pieces were added. Interestingly, the cast was gigantic. Not limiting themselves to a one-person show, they could make the characters distinct beings with distinct styles. The differences between the women really came out, making the show even stronger, saying, "Yes, we are different, but we unite just the same."

The cast was spectacular. Some, of course, were more notable than others, especially Andrea Caron presenting "The Vagina Workshop," Rhonda Torki in "My Angry Vagina" and Rashmi Ankam in "Six-year-old Girl." In truth, all of the scenes projected so much passion and dedication, so much emotion harnessed into art.

Because the show is such a roller coaster, the acting needs to be strong to transfer the audience from laughing fits to stunned silence. The UMD cast did this very well; they got away with pairing the unbelievably ridiculous "Wear, Say, and Smell" (which is an adapted medley of three of Ensler's monologues) and the shocking "Outrageous Fact."

The near-bare stage also helped the monologues to flow. Minimal sets included sofas and stuffed armchairs, but many scenes were done with only lighting to accompany the actors.

Only lighting, however, is a severe understatement. Solid white and red spots lent power and grace to the performances.

The only real complaint of the evening is about the dance routine after intermission. It had no bearing on the show, related nothing to the theme and wasn't even terribly well done.

Despite that one little anomaly, The Vagina Monologues was a fantastic experience worth every penny of the $10 it cost. All the proceeds, as is V-Day custom, were donated to charities for ending violence against women and girls.