Jerry O'Connell and Ari Graynor to Star in American Hero Off-Broadway

The cast is now set for Second Stage Theatre’s American Hero, the first play of the company’s twelfth annual Uptown Series. Broadway vets Jerry O’Connell, Ari Graynor and Daoud Heidami, in addition to Erin Wilhelmi, will appear in the dark comedy by Bess Wohl. Under the direction of Leigh Silverman, American Hero will run May 12 through June 8, with an official opening set for May 22 at the McGinn/Cazale Theatre.

American Hero is a supersized dark comedy about life, liberty and the pursuit of sandwiches. 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.

O’Connell made his Broadway debut in the 2011 revival of Seminar; his screen credits include Stand By Me, Jerry Maguire and NBC’s Crossing Jordan. Graynor returns to Second Stage after appearing in Spanish Girl, Trust and The Little Dog Laughed. Her additional credits include Relatively Speaking and The Performers on Broadway, as well as the upcoming CBS comedy Bad Teacher. Heidami has appeared on New York stages in Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo on Broadway and the Public Theater’s Titus Andronicus. Wilhelmi has appeared off-Broadway in The Great God Pan and Core Values, as well as in the films The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Disconnect and The English Teacher.

As previously reported, Second stage’s Uptown Series will also include Mala Hierba, penned by Tanya Saracho and directed by Jerry Ruiz.