Westport Country Playhouse's Production of "4,000 Miles" Is Funny, Moving, and Thought-Provoking

Westport Country Playhouse's production of "4,000 miles", is running until September 4th is a must-see for live theater enthusiasts. This heartwarming and emotional intergenerational story that profoundly explores the human condition. Set in the NYC's Greenwich Village neighborhood, the story is centered around a the relationship between a grandmother, Vera, and her grandson, Leo. Like a novel, the play slowly unravels the story and background of the complex characters through vignette-like scenes which are spliced with humor and anguish.

After completing a cross-country bicycle trip from the west coast, 21-year-old Leo crashes at the Greenwich Village apartment of his feisty 91-year-old grandmother Vera. Although these unlikely roommates are not always in harmony on issues of age, family, love, sex, and politics, they find an emotional connection that gives each a purpose.

"4000 Miles” is written by Amy Herzog and this production is directed David Kennedy who is in his fourteenth season as Playhouse associate artistic director. He has directed Playhouse productions each season, including “The Invisible Hand,” which received the 2016 Connecticut Critics Circle (CCC) Award for Outstanding Production of a Play, and for which Kennedy won the CCC honor for Outstanding Director of a Play. The four-member cast for “4000 Miles” features Mia Dillon as Vera Joseph with Clay Singer as Leo Joseph-Connell, Lea DiMarchi as Bec, and Phoebe Holden as Amanda.

Playwright Amy Herzog’s other plays include “After the Revolution” (Lilly Award), “The Great God Pan,” and “Belleville” (Susan Smith Blackburn Prize Finalist; Drama Desk Nomination). Herzog is a recipient of the Whiting Writers Award, Benjamin H. Danks Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Helen Merrill Award, Joan and Joseph Cullman Award for Extraordinary Creativity, and The New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award. She has taught playwriting at Bryn Mawr and Yale, and has an MFA from Yale School of Drama.

The creative team includes Arnulfo Moldanado, scenic design; Maiko Matsuhima, costume design; Carolina Ortiz Herrera, lighting design; Fitz Patton, sound design; Michael Rossmy, intimacy coach; Sean Sanford, props supervisor; Dana Tanner-Kennedy, dramaturg; Tara Rubin, Casting, CSA, Claire Burke, CSA, casting; Shane Schnetzler, production stage manager; Gwen Sewell, assistant stage manager; and Lauren Lambert, production assistant.

All audience members must wear a mask while inside Westport Country Playhouse. For more information and to buy tickets, visit www.westportplayhouse.org, or call the box office at (203) 227-4177, toll-free at 1-888-927-7529, or visit

L-R: Clay Singer and Mia Dillon in the comedy “4000 Miles” by Amy Herzog, directed by David Kennedy, at Westport Country Playhouse, now through September 4. (203) 227-4177. www.westportplayhouse.org. Photo by Carol Rosegg