Eve Ensler's 'The Good Body' Goes on Tour

Tour To Reach 20 US Cities October 2005 – April 2006

Eve Ensler, the author of the international phenomenon THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES, plans to explore and expose even more -- when she tours North America in her new play THE GOOD BODY. Ms. Ensler will play in 20 cities in 2005 – 2006, beginning October 4, at the Ordway Theatre in St. Paul, Minnesota.

THE GOOD BODY, written and performed by Eve Ensler, debuted on Broadway in October 2004, following a workshop production at the Seattle Repertory Theatre and an engagement at ACT in San Francisco. THE GOOD BODY is directed by Peter Askin. The tour is produced by Harriet Newman Leve, in association with Ron Nicynski, Mark Kaplan and Michele Crowley. Associate producers are Allison Prouty and Laura Wagner. The tour is managed by 321 Theatrical Management.

When Eve Ensler takes the stage, she doesn't just perform a play…she causes a sensation. In THE GOOD BODY she takes an inside look at the outside, exploring the cultures of beauty, food and desire through the eyes of women around the world. This provocative, hilarious, and profoundly moving show promises to be no less extraordinary than Eve's previous triumph, THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES, which inspired a worldwide revolution. A portion of proceeds from the tour will be benefit V-Day, the global movement to end violence against women and girls which Ensler founded.

With THE GOOD BODY, Eve Ensler turns her unique eye to the rest of the female form. Whether undergoing botox injections or living beneath burkhas, women of all cultures and backgrounds feel compelled to change the way they look in order to fit in. THE GOOD BODY merges cross-cultural explorations with Eve's own personal journey coming to terms with her 'less-than-flat, post-40's stomach.' The Associated Press called THE GOOD BODY, "Insightful, entertaining and hilarious," the San Francisco Chronicle described it as, "Passionate, funny, frank, revealing, even shocking," while The New York Times said THE GOOD BODY is, "forthrightly funny, bristling with wisecracks and exotically harvested snippets of wisdom."

THE GOOD BODY features set designs by Tony nominee Robert Brill (Assassins), costume design by recent Tony Award winner Susan Hilferty (Wicked) and lighting design by Kevin Adams (Hedwig and the Angry Inch). Sound design and original music is by David Van Tieghem (Doubt), co-designed by Jill B.C. Du Boff (The Constant Wife).

EVE ENSLER (Playwright/Performer/Activist), award-winning author of The Vagina Monologues, most recently performed her new play The Good Body on Broadway in NYC, at ACT in San Francisco, and in a workshop production at Seattle Repertory Theatre. Ensler is founder and artistic director of V-Day, a global movement to end violence against women and girls. The Vagina Monologues has been translated into more than 35 languages and has run in theaters worldwide, including sold-out runs at Off-Broadway's Westside Theater and on London's West End (2002 Olivier Award nom., Best Entertainment). Her play Necessary Targets, set in a Bosnian refugee camp, opened Off-Broadway at the Variety Arts Theatre in February 2002, following a hit run at Hartford Stage Company. Ensler's other plays include Conviction, Lemonade, The Depot, Floating Rhoda and the Glue Man and Extraordinary Measures. The Good Body, The Vagina Monologues, and Necessary Targets have been published by Villard/ Random House, who will also publish Ms. Ensler's upcoming books I Am an Emotional Creature and V-World. Ensler is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship Award in playwriting, the 2002 Amnesty International Media Spotlight Award for leadership, and the Matrix Award (2002). She is an executive producer of "What I Want My Words to Do to You," a documentary about the writing group she has led since 1998 at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women. The film had its world premiere at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, where it received the Freedom of Expression Award; the film premiered nationally on PBS's "P.O.V."

PETER ASKIN (Director). Recent NY credits: Eve Ensler's The Good Body on Broadway; Privilege by Paul Weitz; Trumbo, starring Nathan Lane followed by a rotating cast, including Paul Newman and Brian Dennehy; Mike O'Malley's Searching For Certainty; John Leguizamo's Sexaholix, Spic-O-Rama, and Mambo Mouth. He also directed the New York, London and Los Angeles productions of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and Dael Orlandersmith's Monster, Beauty's Daughter and The Gimmick. Past New York credits include: Dinner With Demons; How It Hangs; Linda Her; Beauty Marks; Ourselves Alone; Reno; Reality Ranch; and Down An Alley Filled With Cats. Film: Peter has written (and co-written) a number of screenplays including Smithereens and Paramount Classic's Company Man (which he also co-directed with Doug McGrath), with Sigourney Weaver, John Turturro and Woody Allen. He recently finished adapting Martin Millar's Good Fairies of New York, and is currently adapting Someone Else's Child by Nancy Woodruff. Television: Peter directed the HBO production of Spic-O-Rama for which he won a Cable Ace. He was the Supervising Producer for John Leguizamo's HBO/Fox comedy series "House of Buggin'."

THE GOOD BODY, written and performed by Eve Ensler, opens October 4th at the Ordway Theatre in St. Paul, Minnesota, and will tour through April 2006. For more information visit http://www.thegoodbody.com For booking information contact The Road Company at (212) 302-5200.

Performance dates:
2005

Oct 4-9 St. Paul, MN Ordway Center For The Performing Arts
Oct 11-16 Philadelphia, PA Annenberg Center
Oct 18-23 Stamford, CT Stamford Center For The Arts
Nov 1 - Nov 6 Charlotte, NC Blumenthal Performing Arts Center
Nov 8-27 Miami, FL Coconut Grove Playhouse
Nov 29 - Dec 4 Raleigh, NC Fletcher Opera Theater
Dec 6-11 Dallas, TX Majestic Theatre

2006

Jan 3-8 To Be Announced IN EARLY SEPTEMBER
Jan 10-15 To Be Announced IN MID NOVEMBER
Jan 17-22 Washington, DC Lincoln Theater
Jan 31 - Feb 12 Los Angeles, CA Wadsworth Theatre
Feb 15-19 Detroit, MI Music Hall
Feb 21-23 Portland, OR The Wonder Ballroom
Feb 24-26 Seattle, WA The Moore
Feb 28 - March 5 Skokie, IL North Shore Center for the Performing Arts
Mar 7 - 19 Toronto, Canada To Be Announced
March 21-26 Boston, MA The Cutler Majestic Theatre at Emerson College
March 28 - Aprl 2 Fort Lauderdale, FL Parker Playhouse
April 18-23 Vancouver, Canada The Vogue
April 25-30 Scottsdale, AZ Scottsdale Center for the Arts

To purchase tickets, visit http://www.thegoodbody.com