‘Hungry Women’ Unevenly Takes Aim at the Patriarchy

Towards the end of “Hungry Women,” a new play by Melissa Maney, one character threatens to kill a baby. For anyone tasked with reviewing this wildly overwrought one-act outing, that development may induce twinges of guilt, as Ms. Maney, judging by the photos on her website, looks to be in her twenties, which would make her a still-nascent playwright.Infanticide is only one of several gruesome acts either considered or committed in “Women,” now in its world premiere off-Broadway at the Soho Playhouse. In three scenes each set a century apart, beginning in 1890s Massachusetts and taking us to 2091, the play offers an alternative history—or “herstory,” to use the feminist term applied numerous times here—in which males have been rendered extinct.If the notion of a world without men isn’t exactly novel — it’s been the basis for at least a couple of sci-fi flicks, for starters — Ms. Maney explores it with a particular avidity. A few representatives of the gender are described by the first generation of women we meet, just after the “incident” that wipes out their husbands; in hyper-dramatic asides, they remember their freshly dead spouses as by turns domineering, cruel, and bald.The male ghosts summoned in a séance about 100 years later paint an even more damning picture of the patriarchy. They address a group of curious schoolgirls and their substitute teacher with disdain even before things get truly, graphically nasty. By now, the problem of sustaining our species without a ready supply of Y chromosomes has begun to force women to take oppressive measures against each other, and that tyranny will only increase.Ms. Maney cannot be faulted for lack of passion or curiosity. Her twelve characters — not counting the ghosts, who are heard but not seen — are played by four performers, each representing a distinct type in a different era. Julia Lester, the most famous, is cast as the authority figures: first the priggish and hectoring Ruth; then Rebecca, the more timid but similarly uptight teacher; and finally Regina, the bullying leader of an authoritarian “world council.”Sophie Zmorrod in ‘Hungry Women.’ Rebecca J MichelsonNone of these roles, sadly, accommodate the sparkling comedic prowess Ms. Lester, who is given top billing in this ensemble piece, has shown in previous roles on and off-Broadway, among them Little Red in a marvelous 2022 revival of “Into the Woods.” “Hungry Women” certainly isn’t absent of humor—it’s essentially a dark comedy—but its lighter moments can be as clunky as its preachier ones, and Daniella Caggiano’s overzealous direction does little to help.Zoe Dean brings a similarly unbridled eagerness to a trio of earnest young women whose names all begin with M. Sophie Zmorrod, assigned the “V Track” —Vic, Valerie, and Violet, each something of a rebel — seems to be shooting for a wryer quality but can betray a self-consciousness, especially early on. Mariyea fares best as Eden, Elizabeth, and Eleanor, in part because these sharply intelligent characters have some of the better lines.Indie pop songs showcasing spunky female singers, natch, are featured between scenes, as the players run around and change costumes. Olivia Vaughn Hern’s evocative design may be the most impressive element of this production, from the buttoned-up period dresses we see initially to the black robes and pink wigs that make the last series of characters resemble English judges dolled up for a fashion show.If “Hungry Women” is plainly the work of a novice, and something of a slog, it shows a ravenous imagination. Hopefully, Ms. Maney will learn to channel that asset more adroitly and with a little more discipline.

‘Hungry Women’ Unevenly Takes Aim at the Patriarchy

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