Steinem (Dec. 11), Flanders (Dec. 16), Stiles (Dec. 23) and Rossellini (Jan. 9 - the 3 PM performance) will join author-performer Ensler following performances of her Broadway debut at the Booth Theatre. A special celebrity guest — to be announed that evening — will take part in a discussion Dec. 8 after the 8 PM performance. Only ticket holders for each performance will be allowed at the talkbacks.
The author of Vagina Monologues takes an "inside look at the outside," focusing further on the female anatomy in The Good Body, which began previews Oct. 22 and opened Nov. 15 for a limited 12-week engagement to run through Jan. 16, 2005.
Presented by Harriet Newman Leve, The Araca Group and East of Doheny, the new work written and performed by Ensler is directed by Peter Askin (Sexaholix, Trumbo, Hedwig and the Angry Inch).
Inspired by the widespread popularity of her previous boundary-breaking work The Vagina Monologues, Ensler spoke with women all over the world about their bodies in her travels. From those conversations, the scribe developed her own script for The Good Body which focuses on the rest of the female anatomy, exploring the lengths women go to for a culturally accepted perception of "good."
The Good Body made its world premiere at San Francisco's American Conservatory Theatre this summer after a workshop production at Seattle Repertory Theatre. The creative team for The Good Body comprises Robert Brill (set design), Susan Hilferty (costume design), Kevin Adams (lighting design), David Van Tieghem (sound design and original music), Jill BC Du Boff (co-sound) and Wendall K. Harrington (video design).
As Ensler's Vagina Monologues inspired the creation of V-Day — a global movement to end violence against women — The Good Body has spawned Love Your Tree — "a space for women and men to go after seeing The Good Body to continue the discussion." A V-Day project sponsored by ABC Carpet & Home, audiences can visit Love Your Tree at ABC Carpet & Home (888 Broadway in New York) from Nov. 19-Jan. 16, 2005. The forum will "feature events, speakers ranging from Isabella Rossellini to Dr. Christiane Northrup MD, discussions, a curated art installation, music, dance, and resources to empower and enlighten the way we look at our bodies," according to a release.
Tickets to The Good Body at the Booth Theatre, 222 West 45 Street, are available by calling (212) 239-6200. For more information, visit www.thegoodbody.org.
