Sandy McCabe and Joseph Wilhelm III
We can’t say it any better than Carrie Chapter, Dramaturg, Philadelphia Theatre Company which is also performing the play.
“Much of the American theatre’s most memorable work centers on a homecoming. Yet, rather than a family fortune or dinner table skirmish, in Amy Herzog’s 4000 MILES, , the act of coming home arrives by way of a road-weary bicycle and a loss – what is left behind after a distance traveled (4000 miles), and what lies ahead. The play tells the journey of a young man recharging his emotional battery with the help of a trusted power source- his grandmother. …Amy Herzog is an inimitable voice whose ability to write tender yet rich, intelligent family dramas with enormous compassion causes the production runs of her work, over the last few years, to be extended and re-extended in theatres all over the country. The key to the magnetism of her work is unmistakable. The intimacy of 4000 MILES – its economy with sentiment balanced with a bounty of humor – defines it a play with sincere heart to it. To this end, what the play uncovers is the revelation of community. This is how the solitary path for self-discovery can surprise you with an intergenerational thrust back into the wonder of life itself.”
This gently comic drama at The Playmakers, opening March 28. “4000 Miles,” by Amy Herzog, is “the sort of rich, satisfying play you should take your grandmother to,” said Time Out New York, “especially if she’s as smart and fierce as Vera,” (the grandmother). Students, mid-school and high school, can receive a discounted ticket price of $6 if they bring at least one grandparent to a performance.
If you enjoyed The Playmakers’ production of “Grace & Glorie” in 2008, then this play is for you. And, as shown in that play, complicated relationships don’t have to be battlegrounds. They are often filled with sensitivity, compassion, humor, love, and a need for understanding.
Sandy McCabe returns to the stage after many years of directing. She plays the role of the 91 yr. old grandmother, Vera, opposite Joseph Wilhelm, III as Leo, in his debut in a major Playmaker part. (He had a small non-speaking part in “Almost, Maine,” a year ago.) The two actually worked together for a time at the former Java Dave’s, so, like Vera and Leo, they didn’t have to get to be introduced. They just dove right into their characters and got to work, again.
Leo arrives at Vera’s Greenwich Village apartment at three in the morning, having completed a bicycle trip from Washington State during which he suffered the loss of a friend. Over the course of a single month, these unlikely roommates infuriate, bewilder, and ultimately reach each other through small moments and unassuming conversations about family, politics, and relationships. And, we in the audience end up caring about them as much as they care for each other.
Courtney Smith and Jacque Cabrera fill out the cast as Rebecca and Amanda, former girlfriend and new date.
The play was a finalist for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and winner of the 2012 Obie Award for Best New Play, the NY Times Outstanding Playwright Award, and Time Magazine’s #1 Play of 2012. Ms. Herzog, 34, is one of two New York-based recipients of the $50,000 Whiting Writers’ Award for 2011.
Playmaker’s production of “4000 Miles” runs for nine performances at 121 W. 3rd St. in Grove, Ok: March 28, 29, 30, April 4,6,8,11,12, 13, 2014. Friday, Saturday and Tuesday performances are at 7:30 pm and Sunday matinees are at 2:00 pm. Reservations may be made online at
www.groveplaymakers .com, (except the student discount ticket) or by calling 918-786-8950 or by emailing groveplaymakers@yahoo.com. tickets are $15; Students, mid-school through high school, $8. A group rates for 20 people or more is available as is The Playmakers’ Pay What You Can option.
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