San Francisco Critics Check Out Ensler's Body
Here is a sampling of what they had to say:
Dennis Harvey of Variety: "To call The Good Body an exercise in navel-gazing is thus a statement of literal fact as well as opinion. Some may have a different opinion, of course. Just as prior smash "The Vagina Monologues" struck a popular chord with ideas that had been explored in feminist theater and performance art for decades as Ensler well knows, so Body should build on that success to again draw myriad patrons who've probably never heard of Karen Finley... and wouldn't care to, either. Ensler's standup shtick and somewhat underwhelming skill as a multicharacter thesp, as well as the variable depth to her material, are more obvious this time around, at least in the show's pre-New York City form at American Conservatory Theater. It's skedded to hit Broadway in September. Still, the slickly packaged, intermissionless evening, directed with smooth efficiency by Peter Askin, drew many an approving yelp and affirming sigh from its opening-night audaud."
Robert Hurwitt of The San Francisco Chronicle: "[The Good Body] could, to some extent, be called The Stomach Monologues, though it isn't quite as well digested as its famous anatomical predecessor. Based, like The Vagina Monologues, on numerous interviews conducted by Ensler and performed with a similar deep-seated conviction, Body is passionate, funny, frank, revealing, even shocking and genuinely committed to improving life on this planet. But it's also poorly organized, not fully thought through, at times dated, somewhat self-indulgent and disconcertingly preachy to an extent that it makes it seem longer than its 95 minutes without an intermission."
Chad Jones of The Oakland Tribune: "The Good Body is the highly personal story of how one enlightened, successful, middle-age woman attempts to deal with self-hatred and comes to love herself--and her tummy. Utterly captivating and at times hilarious, Ensler is a marvelous guide as she introduces us to more than a dozen women from this country and around the world. She's no Lily Tomlin when it comes to character work and accents, but then again, when it comes to activism, Lily Tomlin is no Eve Ensler… As a solo performer, Ensler is expanding her horizons. In The Vagina Monologues, she sat on a stool in front of a microphone and read from cards. This time out, Ensler is after a more theatrical experience. There are bells and whistles here. Some work. Others don't…. Gracefully directed by Peter Askin, The Good Body is full of nourishing food for thought."
Pat Craig of Contra Costa Times: "Eve Ensler's new show, The Good Body, could stand to, uh... Well, frankly, it could stand to lose a few words, if we can speak truthfully here. Not that there's anything wrong with it the way it is… Right now, the show drifts momentarily into rants, before returning to the pointed, but light-hearted attitude that makes Ensler's work so effective. It should be noted, however, that the show has all the earmarks of a masterwork, with Ensler taking a more personal journey across the female form, concentrating on her 'post-40' belly, as a launching point for a one-woman safari into the unexplored wilderness areas of the human condition."
Karen D'Souza of The San Jose Mercury News: "Ensler takes her adipose tissue to task in her new funny but uneven solo, The Good Body, which had its world premiere in San Francisco on Wednesday night. The show lacks the delicious feeling of subverting taboo that made The Vagina Monologues so powerful. But there's no denying Ensler's charisma on stage. And even if there are times when the play seems a little self-indulgent navel-gazing about the tyranny of women's magazines hardly feels revolutionary in this day and age, Body also includes many memorable moments marked by spitfire wit and naked self-exposure."