At the start of “All-American,” a father coaches his teenager in the fine art of the quarterback sneak as his other child watches in bored silence, smoking a cigarette.
As it happens, the would-be quarterback’s name is Katie, and it’s Aaron, her twin brother, who wants nothing to do with sports.
In Julia Brownell’s new drama, part of Lincoln Center Theater’s LCT3 series, we visit the Slatterys, a seemingly average suburban American family. Mike (C.J. Wilson) is a former pro quarterback whose fame and income have long since ebbed. He spends most of his time privately coaching 17-year-old Katie (Meredith Forlenza), on whom he’s pinned his hopes, while ignoring the intellectual Aaron (Harry Zittel). His wife, Beth (Rebecca Creskoff), brings home the bacon, though her burgeoning real-estate career threatens to be derailed by Mike’s sudden desire to have another child.
“All-American” is filled with well-observed characterizations, subtly realistic dialogue and comic zingers, the last often delivered by Aaron and his misfit girlfriend (Sarah Steele), but it also has a generic quality that feels more suited for TV than the stage.
Still, it’s a reasonably diverting 90 minutes, and under Evan Cabnet’s taut direction, the ensemble delivers sharp performances. Particularly good are Wilson, who lumbers around the stage like someone racked by old aches and pains; Creskoff, sexy and keen as the wife trying to have it all; and Zittel, who embodies just about every misunderstood, sensitive teen.