About the Play:

Women in Jeopardy! is a full-length comedy by Wendy MacLeod. Divorcees Mary, Jo, and Liz are best friends in their mid-40s. So when Mary and Jo suspect that Liz's new boyfriend is a serial killer, they begin an investigation to prove it to her and save her life. But when they bring in Liz's teenage daughter Amanda, along with her boyfriend Trenner, things go from humorously tricky to hilariously complex. Women in Jeopardy! is a somewhat "edgy" farce from an extraordinary female playwright.

Women in Jeopardy! is a fun, flirtatious spoof of the woman-in-peril movie genre (serial killers, camping alone in nature, women dating menacing men, teenagers in danger). Mary, Jo, and Liz are longtime friends who are in their forties, divorced, and interested in men. The play opens on girls' night at Mary's kitchen. It's "Chardonnay Tuesday," and Mary and Jo share terrified glances between sips of wine: the buxom Liz has a new boyfriend Jackson, a creepy dentist whose pet name for her is "Boobs". He's not just a weirdo; he may be a serial killer! After all, his pretty 22-year-old dental hygienist has disappeared and is feared murdered, and Jackson is a suspect. Mary and Jo are worried that Liz or her voluptuous 19-year-old daughter Amanda might be next. Amanda is a vision of eye-rolling trouble, spoiled rotten, and has a big mouth to prove it. Ringleader Mary and sidekick Jo formulate a plan to undermine the relationship ("Amanda on full throttle? Bye-bye Jackson"). Mary invites Amanda to come over for Bundt cake and she is introduced through a series of character stereotypes ("She's not the brightest girl") and suggestive dialogue ("She doesn't have to be. With those breasts"). Amanda's endowments ("which can be accomplished by costume") figure prominently in the action. It all boils over on a wilderness camping-trip-gone-insane. Convinced they've lost their dearest friend to a dangerous serial killer, Mary and Jo plot to disrupt Jackson's camping trip. Enlisting the help of Amanda's on-and-off-again boyfriend Trenner, the women make their way to Jackson's campsite to save Liz and Amanda from impending doom. Misunderstandings and general hilarity ensue, not to mention a lot of discussion of sex and boobs, but this combination of innuendos, bawdy over-the-top characterizations and honest, raw emotions will appeal to adventurous audiences.

Wendy MacLeod wrote Women in Jeopardy! upon a revelation: it is rare to find well-written roles for women in their late 30s, 40s, and 50s in a play that's filled with love, sex, friendship, and humour. With three juicy roles for women over 40, talented actresses enjoy bringing these strong, empowered characters to the community, and the audience is better off for it – if a little weaker from laughing so hard. She's also written two great 20-something roles for contrast to the women, and they are very funny. By the end, you care about them all, from creepy dentist-beau Jackson to self-absorbed Amanda.

Women in Jeopardy! premiered in 2015 at Geva Theatre Center in Rochester, New York and transferred to the Cape Playhouse in Dennis, Massachusetts. It was selected for The Kilroys' List and The Best Women's Stage Monologues annual anthology. Since then, it has been consistently delighting audiences, and has become a staple of regional and community theatres across the US, from Georgia to California, including the first sell out performance of any opening in Merrimack Repertory Theatre in Lowell, Massachusetts.

Cast: 4 female, 2 male

What people say:

"Full-throttle madcap... Side-splitting... the laughs in Wendy MacLeod's play… come fast and furious… modern, lively, and loads of fun." — The Boston Globe

"Women in Jeopardy! is a damn winner. …a farcical comedy that somehow manages to feel both familiar and innovative… If you look behind the laughs, though, there is a conversation MacLeod is looking to have about the tropes and stereotypes of women-centric casts. But she leaves the work up to us… The job of this play is not to make any large sweeping statements, or to embed ideologies; rather, Women in Jeopardy! inspires conversation through its laughter. At its heart, Women in Jeopardy! is comedy gold. It borrows little bits from everything that's come before it, but the result is refreshing and original, and somehow, the laughter comes easy." — Rochester City Newspaper

"…a highly entertaining mystery-comedy…all about those fuzzy feelings of empowerment, watching women triumph in friendship and the biological unfairness of middle age." — Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

"The women are sassy, and present moments of true comedic gold.… Women in Jeopardy was a pleasant theatrical experience. It was light fare that didn't require a lot of emotional investment, but had an interesting concept with enjoyably humorous implementation." — BroadwayWorld.com

About the Playwright:

Wendy MacLeod is an American playwright. She is Professor of Drama and James Michael playwright-in-residence at her alma mater, Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. Best known for the critically acclaimed Women in Jeopardy!, she is the author of some two dozen plays, many informed by what drama critic Kevin Carr called a "spirit of witty and satirical, female-centric humor."