All American Girl at Lounge Theatre

Who will save the children? All American Girl follows Katie, a bright and attractive girl committed to rescuing innocents from hardship and poverty, as she evolves into a passionate extremist. How does a seemingly ordinary American kid become radicalized? Is violence ever justified? These are some of the questions Graf asks in her newest play. "I've always been interested in understanding the choices people make that end up determining who they are," she explains. "I don't think there's any single point that determines the road taken in life – the left turn instead of the right. This play doesn't offer any answers, simply vantage points at which we pause and ask ‘what if?' " "This play scared the hell out of me when I first read it," says Khanzadian. "This young woman starts out wanting to save the world, to do right. But painful events in her life drive her to see everything through a different lens. The point is that this can happen to anyone. It's not that different from blowing up abortion clinics. Extremism is not exclusively Muslim. It's human."