To close out Vagina Week, members of the VaginaFest performed Eve Ensler's award-winning The Vagina Monologues last weekend at Spingold. While the show had some flaws-most of which were technical-it still moved the audience to laugh and cry in just under two hours of theater. The stage was set in a white living room flanked by strings of white Japanese lanterns hanging from the ceiling. As the lights dimmed, Mira Abramsohn '05, Angela Marchant '07, Claudia Martinez '07 and Alyson Sachs '06 walked through the audience toward the stage. They used white index cards to perform their opening scene. I thought that these notes were just for this opening scene, but all the actresses followed carrying cards. I was confused. Note cards are for fifth-grade book reports and game-show hosts. They aren't even acceptable for auditions-let alone a real performance.

Marchant, the show's director, explained that "all of the actresses [would] be reading their monologues from note cards to express that these words are the stories of other women." This proved to be a failure on the theatrical and thematic levels. Throughout the show, the monologues hit awkward pauses as the actresses checked their notes. While I understand that this is due to Ensler's wishes, it has been done before without them. More importantly than there presense was the cast's lack of memorization, and while there are better ways to visually represent that you are telling the stories of other women, you still don't get to cheat and have your lines in front of you.

Throughout the show, all of the performers sat in the living room set and waited to perform. This resulted in a comfortable, inviting atmosphere during each monologue that helped to create a warm and relaxing connection with the audience. Disappointingly, the women often had nothing to do while waiting, often resulting in uninviting postures and looks of boredom as the show went on.

Many of the performers did fantastic jobs on their individual pieces. Sachs' engaging performance of "The Flood" was very well executed and had a great energy about it. Jenn Giorno '07, Michi Chu '07, Katie Kelley-Hankin '08, Rachel Rausch '05 and Brittany Erlich '08 captivatingly recounted the stories of transgendered women in "They Beat the Girl Out of Me." Barri Yanowitz '06 brought the house down with her suggestive moaning in "The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy." And while all of the actresses performed well, poor lighting detracted from many of the monologues-some facial expressions were hard to discern.

But while their faces were not clear, their message was. Originally created by Ensler using just a chair and a spotlight, The Vagina Monologues promotes solidarity among women and hopes to empower those standing up for their own individuality. While "Vulva Club" a piece from the V-Day edition which was not performed, pieces like "I Asked a Six Year Old Girl," "The Little Coochie Snorcher" and "Reclaiming Cunt" have powerful messages.

The Vagina Monologues was not the best show I'll see this year; it won't even be the best show I'll see this month. However, it accomplished every single director's aim-it captivated its audience. Marchant and her cast were able to get through to the audience and make them understand the solidarity promoted by the show. That's the only measurement of a play-not the meticulous critique of theatrical errors-that really counts.