Donna Hanover, the actress-broadcaster wife of New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, will perform in the Off-Broadway staging of Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monlogues this spring, according to her spokeswoman, Joannie Danielides.

The New York Post and wire services reported April 21 that Hanover, seen in film and TV shows, will join the cast at the Westside Theatre (Downstairs) for two weeks beginning May 30. The solo pieces that make up the evening are written by playwright-activist-screenwriter Ensler based on her research, travels, interviews and experiences and explores the subjects of sexuality, orgasms, rape, empowerment, anatomy and love. The show began with just Ensler telling stories while seated in a stool, but now guest artists read her work in a rotating casting scheme that has proved popular.

Humorous, touching, painful and hopeful, the monologues have left female audiences cheering and crying, and have opened the eyes of men in attendance.

According to Reuters, the wife of New York City's Republican mayor has appeared in such films as "Keeping the Faith" and "The People Vs. Larry Flint" and such soaps as "As the World Turns" and "One Life to Live." She is also a TV correspondent for "Good Day New York" on Fox in the New York City area.

Giuliani, not a hero to arts advocates, is running for U.S. Senate. Hanover is not often seen with her husband in public. Mayor Giuliani is running for U.S. Senate in New York against first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. Reuters reported that playwright-researcher Ensler is a friend of the first lady and worked on her Senate exploratory committee last year.

"The Vagina Monologues is beautifully written and I'm delighted to be following in the footsteps of magnificent actresses like Annie Potts, Gina Gershon, Audra McDonald and Claire Danes," Hanover said in a statement.

-- By Kenneth Jones