"Short Skirts Make the Money" is a one-woman show written by Rick Regan.
In this performance, Widow Sinclair tells the audience a series of stories about her life, including her upbringing in the "New South," her college years in England, her marriage to her late husband Clark, and her current life as a widow. The show is set in a studio apartment.

The story is a mix of wry and sardonic humor, with moments of genuine sadness. Widow Sinclair's delivery to the audience is direct and conversational. She makes witty observations about serious topics, such as the "Male Gaze" in theater and the expectations placed on women. Her recounting of her college years in England and the "Labia Days" comment is both wry and self-aware. Her description of her late husband's quirks, like the Jello mold of his penis, and her friend's reaction to finding it in the freezer, is an example of the script's sardonic humor. She also uses self-deprecating humor, calling herself a "husband-seeking missile, Rambo in a cocktail dress" when she transferred to college to find a husband. 

Themes

• The Male Gaze and the Female Body: Widow Sinclair frequently touches on how women's bodies are perceived and used by society. She discusses the academic concept of the "Male Gaze" in theater, where a woman's presence on stage often leads to violence or sex in the story. She also mentions seeing a group of talented female dancers who bent over in silver shorts while singing about respecting women, noting how their talent was put aside for an "artistic vision" that reduced them to "sex objects"6. This theme is encapsulated by a producer's quote to her: "Honey, short skirts make the money".
• Female Identity and Autonomy: The script explores how women, including Widow Sinclair, navigate their own identities within societal expectations. She discusses how her boyfriend's mother was a victim of change as her family farm turned into "faceless-farming". She also reflects on how she felt like an "imposter" in her marriage, pretending to be someone she wasn't and getting further away from who she was and what she wanted. The play concludes with her finding a new sense of purpose through writing after shedding the trappings of her married life, such as the big house and fancy cars.
• The "Loaded Gun" Metaphor: A recurring metaphor in the show is Chekov's Gun, a dramatic principle that states if a gun is introduced in the first act, it must be fired by the third. Widow Sinclair applies this to women's lives, suggesting that when a woman appears on "stage"—whether in a play or in life—something must be "done with her" by the end. She applies this to characters like Juliet and real-life figures like Princess Diana, who was "the loaded gun in the first act at the wedding". She even relates it to herself, noting that she was a "husband-seeking missile, Rambo in a cocktail dress" when she transferred colleges.