About the Show
Fresh, funny, and sharply relevant, Jaclyn Backhaus’s WIVES reimagines history through the eyes of the women beside “great men.”
With a primarily South Asian cast and direction by Hypokrit Live Arts NYC co-founder Arpita Mukherjee, this whirlwind comedy travels from 16th-century France to 1920s India and 1960s Idaho, turning the spotlight on the overlooked voices who shaped the world. WIVES lands at a pivotal cultural moment—just after the 2024 election that saw South Asian American women make history in both parties, and as Los Angeles’s own Nithya Raman advances to the 2026 mayoral race. Instead of simply retelling the past, WIVES unravels it, reminding us that history is made by many, not just the few who make the headlines.
“WIVES is a gleeful work of historical subversion.” — Ben Brantley, New York Times
