Sarna Lapine Will Direct An American Daughter Off-Broadway

Sarna Lapine Will Direct An American Daughter Off-Broadway

The Wendy Wasserstein play is coming back to NYC.

March 19, 2026 By Logan Culwell-Block

La Femme Theatre Productions will stage a revival of Wendy Wasserstein's An American Daughter Off-Broadway at Pershing Square Signature Center, playing the Irene Diamond Stage. Performances will begin July 23 and officially open August 11. Sarna Lapine (Call Me Izzy) is directing.

First produced on Broadway by Lincoln Center Theater in 1997 (following a developmental workshop at Seattle Repertory Theatre), the work follows the daughter of a U.S. Senator navigating a PR crisis that threatens to upend her nomination to become the U.S. Surgeon General. Since its premiere, the work got a TV movie in 2000, and was presented as a benefit reading for Second Stage Theatre in 2017. La Femme's production, New York's first major revival since the play's debut, will newly feature an unpublished second act.

Casting, by Stephanie Klapper, is to be announced.

"An American Daughter is one of those rare plays that continues to reveal new layers with every generation that encounters it," says La Femme Executive Director Jean Lichty in a statement. "For this production, we’ve been looking closely at the history of the play—what has worked beautifully in past productions and what resonates most strongly with audiences today—and thoughtfully bringing together the best elements of those interpretations, thereby allowing the piece to both speak freshly to our current moment and respect Wendy’s singular legacy.

"We are thrilled to welcome Sarna Lapine as the show’s director. She is the perfect collaborator to help bring this vision to life and celebrate the work of a generational talent such as Wendy. Sarna has an extraordinary ability to illuminate both the humor and the emotional complexity in a script, and she understands how to center the intelligence, ambition, and vulnerability of Wendy’s characters. With Sarna at the helm, we’re confident this revival will not only honor Wendy’s voice but also offer a dynamic and contemporary production for New York audiences."

LDK Productions is serving as general manager.

Visit LaFemmeTheatreProductions.org.