Wives NYC Reviews and Tickets
About the Show
The author of "Men in Boats" returns to Playwrights Horizons with a new comedy that tracks and subverts patriarchal narrative tropes throughout the ages.
Read more Show lessShow-Score Member Reviews (75)
See it if Four time period about women in comedy form (modern language).
Don't see it if Light weight show. Ending does not fit. Read more
See it if you like plays that are comments on gender roles and done with a light witty style. The settings keep moving. Small cast keeps it fun.
Don't see it if you want a traditional narrative play with a big cast and sets. This presents big ideas within a smaller frame.
See it if You’re interested in a work that explores women’s roles & portrayals in history (great Hemingway wives sketch) in funny unusual ways
Don't see it if Not really a play. Three sketches, the third of which was more a pep talk for women. Never comes full circle (though tries to) Read more
See it if 4 interrelated, skit-like shorts by Backhaus; 1 w/ a hilarious Hemingway parody that will be most appreciated by women who love Hemingway.
Don't see it if you’ve no tolerance for affected irreverence. Too little time to develop intimacy that would make the serious parts authentically impactful. Read more
See it if Explorations in breaking the patriarchal narrative and norms with a historic, colonized not-only Western lens.Some entertaining wacky points
Don't see it if Mishmash of times, contexts, ideas, and acting styles can get confusing / too norm-breaking, subversive. Read more
See it if you'd like to see historical matters told from the point of view of the women (wives) of the time.
Don't see it if you're expecting a complete, coherent, experience. This feels more like work in progress. Read more
See it if A mixed bag. The stories of 3 wives at different eras. Some vignettes worked and were entertaining. Game performances.
Don't see it if Others did not. A bit confusing as to who was who. The vignette at "Oxbridge" University was a little too obvious.
See it if 4 short vignettes of the theme of "wives" throughout times. Quirky style - eg modern language in a 1600's setting.
Don't see it if You want one cohesive story. 3 of the 4 vignettes work well, but the 4th goes so far off that it breaks the unity of the show.
Critic Reviews (15)
A Theasy Best Bet "Feminism is a laugh-out-loud riot…Under the direction of the very talented Margot Bordelon, the play's relentless momentum speeds through all four parts in 80 short minutes…A great deal of the glory here goes to the excellent four-person ensemble."
Read more
"An evening that will make you think, laugh and possibly learn something."
Read more
"This is exactly what Playwrights Horizons should be doing...Daring the off-Broadway audience to see into the ferociously funny satiric edge of Jaclyn Backhaus' new play 'Wives,' and discover all the new and thrilling ideas of language, structure, theme, and presentation."
Read more
"Let’s all just agree: it’s time for them to go ahead and sit down. Those men who for centuries shoved the crown on their own heads and decided that they would take up all the space and write all the stories. And sit down they do in Jaclyn Backhaus’ new play, 'Wives.'"
Read more
“Like ‘SNL’’ though, ‘Wives’ is somewhat redeemed by its female actors: three wonderful performers - Purva Bedi, Adina Verson and Aadya Bede - who make the most of every opportunity given them. (Sathya Sridharan plays the token man in each section, doing what he can with deliberately underwritten roles.)”
Read more
"Barely any of this muddled play tickled my chauvinistic funnybone, stirred my patriarchal emotions, or stimulated my caveman intellect. In fact, I would have been unable to sit through it without the vivacious talents of its four actors."
Read more
"'Wives'…is a raucous, funny, well-acted, and well-intentioned production that suffers from intermittent heavy-handedness and whose four distinct parts don't fully cohere…The conceit, at least of the first three vignettes, is to look at the wives or lovers of 'great men,' but not through 'the visions made by men.'"
Read more