An American Daughter

Lyssa Dent Hughes is the privileged, well-educated daughter of a Republican senator. She is the wife of a professor and the owner of a lovely house in Georgetown. She is also the president's nominee for Surgeon General. When the media discovers that once, long ago, she failed to respond for jury duty, this relatively minor misstep is portrayed as a serious moral lapse. A good friend uses the incident to make a point, scarcely thinking of the implications, and Lyssa must suffer the consequences. From that moment on, Lyssa Dent Hughes sits helplessly as the press investigates her family and friends, shattering her privacy, her career, and her world. Wendy Wasserstein's trenchant humor and sizzling dialogue combine with biting political commentary to produce a masterful, and topical, drama.

Newsday

Enormously moving, with richly written characters.

Wendy Wasserstein is the author of many plays, including The Heidi Chronicles, for which she received a Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize. She has also been the recipient of the New York Drama Critics Circle Prize, the Drama Desk Award, and the Outer Critics Circle Award. She lives in New York City.