Nice to see you, Wendy Wasserstein, even in a patchy production

In one of the lectures that open each act of “The Heidi Chronicles,” Elisabeth Moss as title character Heidi Holland discusses two portraits by under-appreciated female American Impressionist painters, whose subjects appear to stand apart while closely studying their surroundings. In that engaged detachment, she likens the women depicted to her own profession of art historian: “Being neither the painter, nor the casual observer, but a highly informed spectator.” This key insight also defines the protagonist of Wendy Wasserstein’s decades-spanning baby boomer play, an ambivalent, recessive character who remains mostly reactive until a stunning public meltdown monologue late in the action. That speech, delivered in 1986, is an East Coast girls’ high school alumnae association address, prompted by the topic “Women, Where Are We Going.” In it, Heidi confesses through real tears to feeling “stranded,” despite her feminist formation and the community-building experience of the women’s movement that was supposed to safeguard against precisely that feeling. A collage of generational experience that’s stronger on cumulative rewards than scene-to-scene conflict, the play limits access to Heidi’s inner life for much of its excessive 2-hour, 40 minute running time. And Moss’ opaque performance contributes to keep her at a distance. So it’s a testament to the “Mad Men” star’s appeal that she’s ultimately so affecting in the role — even if the emotional rush is a long time coming. She’s the main reason to see director Pam MacKinnon’s mixed bag of a revival, though it nonetheless reaffirms the merits of Wasserstein’s Pulitzer- and Tony-winning 1988 play, which remains smart and funny, tender and big-hearted.