An Obie Award-winning whirlwind tour of a forbidden zone.

‘The Vagina Monologues’ at Roxy Regional Theatre.

Say it with me everyone: “Vagina”. Now say it even louder for the men in the back.

The Vagina Monologues, for all its criticism, may be one of the most influential theatrical texts ever put into production. There’s a reason why two decades later it is still built upon.

Eve Ensler’s popular series of monologues about women and performed by women is back for the eighteenth year with the Roxy Regional Theatre’s presentation of The Vagina Monologues — which runs from Jan. 17 – Feb. 1.

This year, two members of the theatre’s professional company and a community guest will perform at the theotherspace, the 50-seat black-box theatre located upstairs at the Roxy. The Vagina Monologues are readings based on interviews Eve Ensler conducted with 200 women about their views on sex, relationships, and violence against women.

The monology readings will be performed by Melissa Schaffner, Marketing Director at Fort Campbell MWR,  Annabelle Szepietowski, who played Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, Crissy in Hair and who will be starring in Junie B. Jones: The Musical and play Louisa in The Fantasticks this season and Alexandra West, whom acted as Calpurnia in To Kill a Mockingbird and Dionne in Hair last season and who will be performing in Junie B. Jones: The Musical this month.

Melissa Schaffner, Annabelle Szepietowski, and Alexandra West.

The Vagina Monologues introduces a wildly divergent gathering of female voices, including a six-year-old girl, a septuagenarian New Yorker, a vagina workshop participant, a woman who witnesses the birth of her granddaughter, a Bosnian survivor of rape, and a feminist happy to have found a man who “liked to look at it.”

In an interview with Women.com, Ensler said that her fascination with vaginas began because of “growing up in a violent society.”

“Women’s empowerment is deeply connected to their sexuality,” Ensler said. She also stated, “I’m obsessed with women being violated and raped, and with incest. All of these things are deeply connected to our vaginas.”

Contributions will be collected each night for the Clarksville Sexual Assault Center, which provides counseling and support to children and adult victims of sexual abuse and community education programs to reduce the risk of victimization.  To learn more, visit SACenter.org.

The Vagina Monologues will be presented in theotherspace, the 50-seat black-box theatre located upstairs at the Roxy, and plays at 8:00 p.m. for six nights only.

The shows will be on January 17, 18, 24, 25, 31 and February 1.  Due to language and content, this production is recommended for mature audiences only.

Tickets are $20 and may be purchased online at RoxyRegionalTheatre.org, by phone at 931-645-7699, or at the theatre during regular box office hours (9:00 am to 2:00 pm, Monday through Friday, and one hour prior to performances).

The Roxy Regional Theatre is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to producing professional live theatre and promoting the arts, with emphasis on education, in Clarksville, Middle Tennessee and the Southeast.  The theatre is located at 100 Franklin Street in Historic Downtown Clarksville.  For more information, please visit RoxyRegionalTheatre.org.