American Hero
by Bess Wohl

Name: American Hero
Brand: Bess Wohl
SKU: 9780822232346
Rating: 3.69 (33 reviews)

Off-Broadway

American Hero Book Cover — American Hero Cover

Highlights

Small Cast

Female

Male

90 mins Present Day Reduced Casting (Doubling Possible) Expandable Casting Unit Set/Multiple Settings Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes American Comedy

Synopsis

At a toasted subs franchise in the local mall, three up-and-coming “sandwich artists”—a teenager, a single mom, and a downsized refugee from corporate banking—are perfecting the mustard-to-cheese ratio according to the company manual.

But when their shot at the American dream is interrupted by a series of strange events, they become unlikely allies in a post-recession world.

AMERICAN HERO is a supersized dark comedy about life, liberty, and the pursuit of sandwiches.

Press Reviews

"Three losers working in a Subway-type sandwich franchise may not sound like promising material for brilliant comedy and cutting social satire, but Bess Wohl has achieved both sensationally in her new play, American Hero… You can only marvel at how Wohl gets the heartbreaking human damage these characters suffer so right, and yet, because you come to admire their gallows humor, courage, decency and true grit, you leave the theater walking on air."
— Doug Stumpf, Vanity Fair

"[Bess Wohl’s] darkly funny comedy… takes a wry, compassionate attitude toward American workers barely clinging to the bottom rungs of the economic ladder."
— The New York Times

"Wohl’s quirky comedy observes a few specimens of the embattled American working class… Simmering beneath the heroic battle to succeed in a cutthroat market – and the great crisis when the franchise is abandoned by its corporate owners – is a metaphorically rich survival drama about individual pluck and group courage."
— Variety

"No matter where you fall on the food chain, you’re bound to encounter frustration in a day and age when uniformity and profit are valued over creativity and inspiration. American Hero calls to mind a range of anxiety-generating post-recession narratives, among them Laura Marks’ Bethany… but the ideas [Wohl] is toying with leave you plenty to chew on."
— NBC New York

Characters

Character	Gender	Age	Description
Ted 40ish. Relentlessly positive. A follower of rules. A true believer in the American Dream. Secretly in despair.	—	40s	40ish. Relentlessly positive. A follower of rules. A true believer in the American Dream. Secretly in despair.
Jamie 30ish. Hot. Gum snapping. Sexy mini-skirts. Glittery eye shadow. Full of rage.	—	30s	30ish. Hot. Gum snapping. Sexy mini-skirts. Glittery eye shadow. Full of rage.
Bob 40s. New to America. Thick, unplaceable accent. Very anxious for unknown reasons.	—	40s	40s. New to America. Thick, unplaceable accent. Very anxious for unknown reasons.
Customer 40s. A regular guy who wants a sandwich.	—	40s	40s. A regular guy who wants a sandwich.
Sandwich 40s. A sandwich.	—	40s	40s. A sandwich.
Gregory 40s. A man from corporate. The roles of BOB, CUSTOMER, GREGORY and SANDWICH can all be played by the same actor for a reduced cast of 2w, 2m.	—	40s	40s. A man from corporate. The roles of BOB, CUSTOMER, GREGORY and SANDWICH can all be played by the same actor for a reduced cast of 2w, 2m.
Sheri 18. Awkward, soft-spoken and weird. Doesn’t stand up straight, ever. Utterly exhausted.	—	18	18. Awkward, soft-spoken and weird. Doesn’t stand up straight, ever. Utterly exhausted.