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Pygmalion Theatre Company: The Good Body

April 28–May 14 @ Rose Wagner Center

by Jacob Stringer

April 28, 2011

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There has long been a trend in the world of print media where editors airbrush photos of models, creating cartoonishly manufactured images by removing and erasing supposed blemishes and unsightly body burbles. In fact, the Internet showcases the ugly "best" of the mishaps that often result from clumsy or overdone photo editing.

The underlying and terrifying body dysmorphic disorder in women—propagated by societal pressures to conform to these ridiculous and unnatural standards of beauty—is the subject of Pygmalion Theatre Company’s newest production, Eve Ensler’s The Good Body. As the author of the celebrated Vagina Monologues, Ensler continues her sharp look into contemporary female self-image by taking a thought-provoking and humorous stab at the various lenses women use and abuse when viewing their own bodies. Originally developed as a one-woman show, Pygmalion’s version, directed by Robin Wilks-Dunn, instead features a trio of actors—Cassandra Stokes Wylie, Tamara Johnson-Howell and Kathryn Atwood.

Pygmalion Theatre Company: The Good Body @ Rose Wagner Center, 138 W. Broadway, 801-355-2787, April 28–May 14, $20. ArtTix.org, PygmalionProductions.org