What happens when women are left to build a world without men? That question takes center stage in Hungry Women, a new dark comedy making its world premiere Off-Broadway this summer at SoHo Playhouse.
Written by Melissa Maney and directed by Daniella Caggiano, Hungry Women will run for a six-week limited engagement from July 23 through August 30, with opening night set for July 25 at 7 p.m. The production is presented by Black Watch Theatre LLC, following its win in the SoHo Playhouse Lighthouse Series.
The production stars Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominee Julia Lester, known for her work in Into the Woods, Queens, All Nighter, The Four Seasons and Disney+’s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.
Lester is joined by Zoe Dean, Mariyea and Sophie Zmorrod. Dean previously appeared in rounds of Hungry Women during the 2025 SoHo Playhouse Lighthouse Series and in The Trouble With Dead Boyfriends. Mariyea is known for her work as Miss Bushwig 2025 and in Paramount+’s Noah’s Arc The Movie. Zmorrod’s credits include The Kite Runner national tour, The Acting Company’s Odyssey and Machine Learning Hamlet.
Hungry Women imagines a world in which men have gone extinct and follows women across a 200-year span as they adapt, survive and create new social structures. Moving from the Victorian Era to 2091, the play uses absurdism, macabre humor and a feminist perspective to explore questions surrounding survival, identity, sexuality, motherhood and power.
The production also takes an unconventional turn, incorporating elements including cannibalism and paranormal activity as its characters confront the challenges of rebuilding society.
Maney describes the play as an exploration of how women might adapt and evolve when traditional patriarchal structures no longer exist. The production’s central question ultimately goes beyond survival, asking what women are truly hungry for.
The creative team includes scenic and projection designer Qingan Zhang, costume designer Olivia Hern, lighting designer Annie Garrett-Larsen, sound designer Chris Verde and dramaturg Alejandra Godoy. Kaelin Elizabeth Fuld serves as stage manager, with Elise Joyner as assistant stage manager.
Performances will take place at SoHo Playhouse, located at 15 Vandam St. in New York City. Tickets are priced from $44 to $69 and are currently on sale through the theater.
With its combination of dark comedy, speculative storytelling and feminist themes, Hungry Women offers audiences an unconventional look at what society might become when its most familiar power structures disappear.