The Devil's Wife - Tom Jacobson

   “It wouldn’t be the first time a reckless marriage led straight to hell. Rarely, however, has a spouse—however demonic—turned out to be literally Satan. Which somewhat raises the stakes for three sisters hoping a mysterious suitor will rescue them from desperate financial straits in THE DEVIL’S WIFE…
   Loosely adapted from an ancient Italian folk tale…playwright Tom Jacobson’s delightfully creepy new postmodern fable makes an entertaining and thought-provoking debut…
   …the story [is situated] in an ambiguous but vaguely Spanish-American Gothic setting that stylishly befits Jacobson’s whimsical mash-up of fairy-tale tropes and modern sensibilities. As in the original legend, the Prince of Darkness successively woos three sisters in the guise of Nicolas Mastema, a wealthy, suavely seductive lawyer who promises to salvage their endangered family estate if one of them will marry him.
   The only catch: His bride must never open the door to his cellar, which reportedly offers that which each visitor most desires. Oh, and there’s a curious business involving a wooden staff bequeathed by the sisters’ late father that Nicolas seems way too eager to acquire.
   THE DEVIL’S WIFE is a smart, satisfying thrill ride.
Naturally, the temptation to cross the forbidden threshold proves impossible to resist, first for the beautiful but haughtily insecure Bonita, then for the sweet-tempered sexpot, Dulce. It’s left to the brainy Sofia to try to outwit Nicolas with a strategy that ultimately pits heaven against hell…
   Jacobson’s signature intelligence and wit are never in short supply, and running a little more than an hour the play elegantly poses an ever-deepening volley of sophisticated theological and philosophical questions.
   …THE DEVIL’S WIFE is a smart, satisfying thrill ride with a unique supernaturally tinged caution against depending on the kindness of strangers.”
Philip Brandes, Los Angeles Times