The show started as a project of Charles "Chucky" Robertson in a small independent theatre just outside of Boston, Massachusetts in May of 2004. It was apparent to most who saw or became somehow involved in the show that Mr. Robertson was performing "The Chucky's Vagina Monologues" as part of his intensive therapy following events from his youth that may or may not have happened as he described them.
In 2004 the show began with Chucky Robertson spending an hour and a half on stage basically telling the story of "Chucky's Vagina," which detailed what it was like for him to grow up with a pet vagina that mostly lived in a terrarium. He also went into detail about the things that went wrong between the vagina and himself as he entered his teen years and the psychological problems he encountered in adulthood after being separated from his vagina following a house party in 1987.
The show had a limited following amongst hobos, perverts and anti-intellectualists for several months and was about to be cancelled by the independent theatre that had sponsored it. Then something happened. People began coming forward, stating they had encountered Chucky Robertson's vagina in one way or another and wanted an opportunity to discuss their experiences with it.
Strangely enough, the majority of these people did not refer to the vagina in questions as "it." There was a common bond between these people. All tended to refer to the vagina as "she." And they all seemed to hold a combination of respect for the vagina and a fear of it, on one level or another.
The decision was made in the fall of 2005 to allow each of these people who had some form of experience with Chucky Robertson's vagina to take a few minutes on stage to tell their own story. Chucky Robertson himself became a kind of narrator, stepping to the front of the stage in between the spoken words of each "witness" to tell a related story, joke with the audience, or juggle tennis balls.
"I knew Chucky's vagina.
I knew her well.
In secret we did dwell.
She was my princess.
I was her pea.
Never between us
Could any sadness be."
--Cotzko the Poet
Performing in "The Chucky's Vagina Monologues"
Despite lawsuits filed against the company of witnesses performing in the show by the producers of The Vagina Monologues, the show went on. After a judge found there was no similarity between a show in which women lovingly chat about their vaginas and a bunch of weird men talking about a disembodied vagina they were emotionally involved with, the show got the green light to go on the road for performances in seven cities, including New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Corpus Christi, Texas where it was enormously popular.
The show's popularity was initially linked to its focus on a rather curious subject matter. As the performances continued and were seen by bitter critics, its success was attributed more to the "absurdist art" of many of the performers. From Cotzko the Poet to Shifty Manning, who drew pictures of Chucky's vagina with magic markers at high speed while chanting "I want it, I want it," the performers were all becoming highly regarded for their originality.
The show is now being optioned as a movie and there is some renewed legal battles over use of the name. Chucky Robertson has stated he is upset over talk that a full-bodied actress will play his vagina in the film. There is talk the rest of the actress will be blacked out using CGI technology and there is much buzz in Hollywood over what kind of actress would just allow her vagina to be shown on the silver screen without the rest of her present. It is said to be highly unlikely that the film will ever be made.
There are also rumors that the actual vagina spoken of in the show has resurfaced and is planning her own set of lawsuits against the theatre company.
Regardless, the show continues to perform to packed houses nightly in cities across America. There is talk of the show being taken to Europe with a performance in Copenhagen slated for this summer.