Play Analysis: American Hero By Bess Wohl

Play Analysis Name: Course: Instructor: Date: American Hero by Bess Wohl The play features three ordinary people (losers) working in a Subway sandwich franchise. The trio sandwich makers consist of Sheri, Ted, and Jamie. Sheri is an 18-year old who as well works at the taco joint on the other side of the mall to support her sickly father. She is shy and says that she sleeps in her car between the shifts. Ted is an MBA professor laid off by his bank. Jamie is a 30-year old, a single mother trying to keep up her three children. She had been fired from a hair salon on the claims that she stole a mousse. The three have been abandoned by their corporate and the franchise owner. This painfully unravels as the three get to know each other and form a team. However, their relationship becomes strained after their franchise owner disappears mysteriously and there was no cash in the till. This is a satirical comedy featuring three ordinary people in an ordinary situation. The play is set in a ‘toasty sub' sandwich franchise to bring out the current economic conditions in America- the recession era. The setting could have been in any medium city or a suburb with a chain of similar sandwich franchise. The playwright has a compassionate attitude towards the working class who are clung to the bottom of the economic ladder. She presents the working class who are struggling to make it in a cutthroat market. It becomes even harder when the corporate owner abandons the franchise. This metaphorically represent...