Leigh Silverman-Helmed AMERICAN HERO & MALA HIERBA Set for Second Stage's 2014 Uptown Summer Season

Second Stage Theatre has announced the two plays which will be presented as part of the company's twelfth annual Second Stage Theatre Uptown Series this summer: Bess Wohl's American Hero, directed by Leigh Silverman and Mala Hierba by Tanya Saracho, directed by Jerry Ruiz.

Both plays will be presented at Second Stage Theatre's uptown home, the McGinn/Cazale Theatre on Broadway at 76th Street. American Hero will run May 13-June 8, with an opening night set for May 22. Mala Hierba will run July 14-August 10, with an opening night set for July 24th. Single tickets for American Hero and Mala Hierba are $25. Tickets for both shows can be purchased by calling the Second Stage Theatre Box Office at 212-246-4422 or online at www.2ST.com.

American Hero
New York Premiere
Written by Bess Wohl
Directed by Leigh Silverman
Previews begin Tuesday, May 13
Opening Night is Thursday, May 22

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

BESS WOHL (Playwright): Bess Wohl's plays have been produced or developed at theaters around the country, including The Williamstown Theatre Festival, People's Light and Theatre Company, Center Theatre Group, The Contemporary American Theater Festival, The Pioneer Theatre, Hartford Stage BrandNew Festival, The Pittsburgh Public Theater, The Northlight Theater, TheaterWorks New Works Fesitval, The Geffen Playhouse, The Vineyard Arts Project, Ojai Playwright's Conference, the Cape Cod Theatre Project and the New York International Fringe Festival (award for Best Overall Production). Her work has been supported by a MacDowell Fellowship, PlayPenn, and the Sewanee Writer's Conference. She is a member of the Ars Nova Play Group and The Civilians, and has been the recipient of new play commissions from Manhattan Theatre Club and Center Theatre Group.

LEIGH SILVERMAN (Director). Broadway: Chinglish; Well; Violet (Encores and upcoming Roundabout). Off-Broadway: Kung Fu (Signature Theatre); The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence (Playwrights Horizons); The Call (Playwrights Horizons); The Madrid (MTC);

Golden Child (Signature Theatre); No Place to Go (Public Theater; Two River Theatre); In the Wake (Center Theatre Group/Berkeley Rep and Public Theater, Obie Award, Lortel nomination); Go Back to Where You Are (Playwrights Horizons, Obie Award); From Up Here (MTC, Drama Desk nomination); Yellow Face (Center Theatre Group/Public Theater); Coraline (MCC/True Love); Blue Door (Playwrights Horizons); Well (Public Theater; Huntington Theatre; ACT); Danny and the Deep Blue Sea (Second Stage Theatre). Recent regional: American Hero (WTF); Chinglish (Goodman Theater, Jeff nomination; West Coast/Hong Kong tour).

Mala Hierba
New York Premiere
Written by Tanya Saracho
Directed by Jerry Ruiz
Previews begin Monday, July 14
Opening Night is Thursday, July 24

Liliana has a sparkle few can deny and no one can resist. The trophy wife of a border magnate living in Texas, she's seemingly impeccable. But beneath that polished exterior lies a fierce determination to survive at any cost. When Liliana's true desires break the surface, she'll have to decide between the value of obligation versus the price of freedom.

TANYA SARACHO (Playwright) was born in Sinaloa, México. She's a playwright, actor, theatre director and TV writer. Currently she writes for HBO's "Looking" and "Girls." Her works have been produced at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The Goodman Theater, Steppenwolf Theater, Teatro Vista, Teatro Luna, Fountain Theater, Clubbed Thumb, NEXT Theater and 16th Street Theater. Her plays include The Tenth Muse, Song for the Disappeared, Enfrascada, El Nogalar (inspired by The Cherry Orchard), an adaptation of The House on Mango Street for Steppenwolf, Our Lady of the Underpass, Kita y Fernanda, and Quita Mitos. She is currently developing projects with HBO, Goodman Theater, Steppenwolf Theatre, Two Rivers Theatre, Denver Theater Center, and South Coast Rep.

JERRY RUIZ (Director) recently directed Basilica by Mando Alvarado for Rattlestick Playwright's Theater and Philip Goes Forth for the Mint Theater Company. Prior NYC credits include: Enfrascada by Tanya Saracho (Clubbed Thumb), Love Goes to Press (Mint), A King of the Infinite Space (SummerStage/HERE), The King is Dead by Caroline V. McGraw and Rattlers by Johnna Adams. Regional: Waiting for the Hearse (Mixed Blood) and Twelfth Night (Chalk Rep). Jerry has developed work at Second Stage, Playwright's Horizons, Soho Rep, The Public, The Atlantic, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Two River Theater Company and the Playwrights Realm. Member of SDC. MFA: UCSD. BA: Harvard.

American Hero will be performed at the McGinn/Cazale Theatre (Broadway & 76th Street, 3rd floor) from Tuesday, May 13 - Sunday, June 8 on the following schedule: Tuesday-Saturday at 7:30pm, Saturday at 2pm, and Sunday at 2pm.

Mala Hierba will be performed at the McGinn/Cazale Theater (Broadway & 76th Street, 3rd floor) from Monday, July 14 - Saturday August 9 on the following schedule: Monday-Saturday at 7:30pm, and Saturday at 2pm.

Tickets for performances of both plays can be purchased at the Second Stage Theatre Box Office (305 West 43rd Street) or by calling (212) 246-4422. Advance tickets are not available at the McGinn/Cazale Theater. Single tickets are $25 for American Hero and $25 for Mala Hierba.

Four and five play package which include The Happiest Song Plays Last, The Substance of Fire, Sex with Strangers, American Hero and Mala Hierba are available beginning at $150.

Single tickets are $25 for American Hero and Mala Hierba respectively. Tickets can be purchased at the Second Stage Theatre Box Office (305 West 43rd Street), by calling (212) 246-4422 or online at www.2ST.com. Advance tickets are not available at the McGinn/Cazale Theater.

Second Stage is currently represented on the main stage by THE HAPPIEST SONG PLAYS LAST, written by Quiara Alegría Hudes and directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson. The play is currently in previews and will officially open on Monday, March 3 at 6:30pm at Second Stage's Tony Kiser Theatre (305 West 43rd street).