Wives, by Jaclyn Backhaus, is both a serious and over-the-top crackling, comically directed (by Margot Bordelon) tour through history beginning in 16th century France with Catherine de' Medici, a dead husband and his live lover; jumping to Idaho in 1961 with a girl's night out with Hemingway's wives and a fish; leaping to the magic of Rajasthan, India in the 1920s under British rule and the power of everyone being a wife; and firmly landing in the present at Oxbridge University at a newly formed...

Wives Tickets
Wives Information
Playwrights Horizons kicks off its 2019-2020 Off-Broadway season with Jaclyn Backhaus’ world premiere comedy Wives, directed by Margot Bordelon.
Performances are staged at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater at Playwrights Horizons.
(Photos by Joan Marcus)
WIVES Written by Jaclyn Backhaus Directed by Margot Bordelon
From the brawny castles of 16th Century France, to the rugged plains of 1960s Idaho, to the strapping fortresses of 1920s India, all hail the remarkable stories of Great Men! — and their whiny, witchy, vapid, vengeful, jealous wives. In this kaleidoscopic, time-hopping comedy, Jaclyn Backhaus pushes past patriarchal cliché to reach an ecstatic breakthrough, untethering stories and history — and language itself — from the visions made by men.
Jaclyn Backhaus’ feverish, feminist comedy is performed with enjoyable brio by the cast. —Ben Brantley, The New York Times
Winking and exuberant! Jaclyn Backhaus’ Wives is a swift and playful feminist manifesto. —Sara Holdren, New York Magazine
Run time
80 minutes, no intermission
Opening date
August 23rd, 2019
Closing date
October 6th, 2019
Categories
Venue
Playwrights Horizons