On the same day as her nomination for Surgeon General, Dr. Lyssa Dent Hughes (Jean Lichty) is tidying her Georgetown living room after her sons, something third-wave feminist Quincy Quince (Carmen Zilles) finds “super-woman retro chic.” Quincy has popped by to visit Lyssa’s husband (Robert Sean Leonard), her former professor. The encounter kicks off the first of several relationship triangles and generational clashes in this meandering but meaningful Off-Broadway revival of Wendy Wasserstein’s 1997 dramedy, An American Daughter.
The action centers on the eminently qualified Dr. Hughes, whose nomination should sail through unencumbered. She is, after all, a highly accomplished pediatrician, fifth-generation granddaughter of Ulysses S. Grant, and daughter of Republican Sen. Alan Hughes (a scene-stealing Dakin Matthews).
Hughes will, according to her husband, “appeal to both the right-wing Nazis and do-gooder Commies.” But scandal erupts after their gay, right-wing family friend Morrow McCarthy (Ryan Spahn) reveals to a reporter that Hughes once ignored a jury summons. The salacious media runs with it, and Hughes, a champion of women’s health and reproductive rights, fast becomes Middle America’s “soccer moms’ anti-christ.”
It wants better content.
The headlines Wasserstein couldn’t leave behind
Wasserstein drew from early 90s headlines, including Nannygate, Hillary Clinton’s polarization, and her own experiences as a successful, single, Jewish woman with fertility issues, beautifully embodied by Montego Glover as Dr. Judy, Hughes’ Jewish African-American best friend. La Femme Productions’ (of which Lichty is also the founder) revival patches together eight earlier scripts. Running close to three hours at the performance I attended, more isn’t necessarily better.
The topics covered include: challenges of public life, fear of powerful women, sexist double standards, and “left-wing rage for selective privilege or self-righteous entitlement,” to name a few. It’s a lot to ask of even a most intellectually engaged, if not attention-span-challenged, 2026 audience, though it’s not alone. Bess Wohl’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Liberation arrived on Broadway last season, asking what an earlier generation of feminists actually won.
In this case, the supporting cast is solid but Lichty’s performance, while earnest, fails to hold the play’s center. Director Sarna Lapine often puts characters in profile or cheats them upstage, losing intimacy at pivotal moments in the stunning, high-ceiling living room (scenic design Mikiko Suzuki MacAdams). Uneven sound design adds analog vinyl-record touches, but incessant bird chirping becomes a distraction.
When the climax finally arrives, the stakes never rise to their intended occasion, leaving the revised ending feeling less revelatory than pat.
Is ‘An American Daughter’ worth seeing?
Nearly 30 years on, Wasserstein’s questions about power, gender, and public scrutiny still sting—this revival just can’t decide how many of them to answer at once.
- La Femme Theatre Productions at The Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 West 42nd Street, New York City
- Notable performers: Jean Lichty, Robert Sean Leonard, Montego Glover, Dakin Matthews
- Running time: Approximately 2 hours 30 minutes, including one intermission
- Performances through September 20, 2026
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