Sunday, February 15, 2015

4000 Miles

Coming in just a wee bit after midnight, but it still counts!

Play #20: 4000 Miles by Amy Herzog

This is another one that goes in the book for sweet and lovely. 4000 Miles starts out when 21-year-old Leo shows up at his grandmother Vera's New York apartment at 3am with no notice, having ridden across the country from Seattle on his bike. Apparently he hasn't even been in touch with his family, which makes the arrival even more shocking, but Vera agrees to let him stay the night. He ends up staying for a few weeks. He is dealing with the death of his best friend Micah - a death that occurred in the middle of their cross-country ride, which is something we don't see. He is also dealing with breaking up with his girlfriend Bec, which is something we do see. Over the weeks that they live together, Leo and Vera come to depend on each other. They get into a rhythm, they keep each other company, they even smoke a little pot together to celebrate the Autumnal Equinox. And then, like people do, they part ways when Leo decides to go home to face his family before heading to Colorado for a job. It's really sort of a heartwarming buddy/roommate story in some ways, but with about 60 years age difference between the two buddies. It's a very charming story of a brief window in these two peoples' lives when they needed each other and were able to be there for each other. Plus, there are some good scenes between Leo and Bec, as well as a scene between Leo and a girl named Amanda who he brought home from a bar, so I'll keep this in my undergrad acting class bag.

Still, I have to say, as much as this is a perfectly lovely play, I'm really having a lot more fun reading the more outlandish scripts as opposed to the sentimental ones. But that's just me... and that's just this week. Who knows what I'll be feeling with twenty or so more plays under my belt!

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