AMERICAN HERO
By Bess Wohl (Small Mouth Sounds)
Directed by Allie Moss
A comic look at what’s left of the modern American Dream. 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 the owner stops providing the resources to make those perfect lunches, they become unlikely allies in a post-recession world. American Hero is a supersized dark comedy about life, liberty, and the pursuit of sandwiches.
SHERRI: Devon
JAMIE: Laura Espino
TED: Paul Stout
BOB/CUSTOMER/SANDWICH/GREGORY: David Boyll
Bay Area Premiere
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Sandwiches
March 7 – April 6
Thurs-Sat
Reviews
““[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).
