Recent off-Broadway seasons saw the arrival of two new plays composed by Jaclyn Backhaus. Her latest, Wives, now premieres at Playwrights Horizons.
Let’s review: Produced last year by Manhattan Theatre Club, Backhaus’ India Pale Ale is a fairly realistic comedy set in modern-day Wisconsin that tells of a spirited young woman’s strained bonds with her Punjabi-American family. Staged in 2016 by Clubbed Thumb with Playwrights Horizons, Men On Boats is a fanciful look at a real-life expedition that charted the Colorado River in 1869—its macho or otherwise menfolk portrayed here by an entirely female company.
Opening Monday at the 128-seat upstairs space at Playwrights Horizons (which commissioned this work), Wives is another Backhaus comedy that humorously explores dubious history and gender roles. Structured as four episodes, the 80-minute Wives questions patriarchal interpretations of women and their place in the world.
The initial segment makes fun of Masterpiece Theatre-type soap epics; in this case the 16th century feud between Catherine de Medici, the consort of Henri II of France, and his mistress Diane de Poitiers. After Henri is fatally impaled while jousting, the hitherto bitter rivals decide to confound traditional expectations and instead live together in harmony. “It’s our world,” they proclaim, sipping cocktails.
The play’s most amusing episode comes next, when three merry widows of novelist Ernest Hemingway convene in a post-funeral chat to share their memories of life with Papa, derisively described by one ex as “a thick slab of masculinity.”
Wearing black weeds and slamming back dark rum, they grow incensed with the realization that Hemingway’s autobiographical works have already established their personal stories. “He can’t co-opt like my own life for his shit,” protests one wife. “Of course he can,” responds another. “He’s a writer.”
The women subsequently deliver their own satiric impressions of what Hemingway has written about them. Such riffs upon Hemingway-esque prose are pretty funny. The mid-scene arrival of a fishing trophy, involving a large stuffed marlin, probably harbors significant meaning as the wives reflect upon what they term their individual “je ne sais quois.” Let’s not delve into interpreting such fishy symbolism, which also is featured upon the program’s cover.
There is not much good to say regarding the rather flat third sequence, set in 1920s India as the women who succor an ailing maharajah defend their private world against a stuffy British official. Here, some obvious satire about colonial mindsets supersedes the theme of gender power. The closing episode forgoes history entirely to offer a whimsical skit about a collegiate coven of present-day witches—a portrait of Virginia Woolf dominates their premises—that whirls into a litany of female affirmation that finally asserts “everything about me is right.”
Composing the episodes in casual contemporary language, Backhaus employs repetitive patterns of dialogue to underline their themes. Brisk musical interludes between the segments (with lyrics by Backhaus and upbeat music by Kate Marvin) support the feminist viewpoint as the actors and visuals transition into the next scene.
For all of its clever bits, the sporadically entertaining Wives at best offers a mild commentary upon the unfair way that patriarchal history has treated women. Although the work proves to be relatively insubstantial, the breezy tone of director Margot Bordelon’s swiftly-paced production makes everything go down agreeably enough.
Smartly dressed by Valérie Thérèse Bart, four actors flesh out their spotty material. A glowering Aadya Bedi is especially funny as a snarky Martha Gellhorn during the Hemingway roast.
That sequence further boasts a witty set designed by Reid Thompson that depicts a magnificent Idaho landscape. Upon a closer look, an unfinished corner of this backdrop reveals that it is actually a paint-by-numbers job.
As it so happens, there also is an unfinished quality to Wives, although its playwright’s intentions are anything but paint by numbers. The comedy could benefit from further development and perhaps even expansion that would offer additional satirical instances of historic patrimony.
Wives opened September 16, 2019, at Playwrights Horizons and runs through October 6. Tickets and information: playwrightshorizons.org
