Review: 4000 MILES A Play by Amy Herzog Opens in Kansas City at Warwick Theatre

Brilliant, excruciatingly real, warm, and humorous are the best ways to describe seeing 4000 MILES, which may turn out to be one of the best play offerings in Kansas City this year. The Met at the Warwick’s production of 4000 MILES written by Amy Herzog and directed by Karen Paisley continues at The Warwick Theatre, located in Midtown Kansas City, Missouri, through November 19.

Herzog’s comedy-drama first appeared Off-Broadway at Duke's on 42nd Street Theatre in 2011 and then returned Off-Broadway at the Mitzie E. Newhouse Theatre at the Lincoln Center Theater in 2012. It was the first play in the Lincoln Center Theater's new works program. The play won the 2012 Obie Award for Best New American Play and was named Time magazine’s #1 Play or Musical of 2012. In 2013 it was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in Drama. The Pulitzer Prize citation reads, “a drama that shows an acute understanding of human idiosyncrasy as a spikey 91-year-old grandmother locks horns with her rudderless 21-year-old grandson who shows up at her Greenwich Village apartment after a disastrous cross-country bike trip.”

Vera Joseph, played by Kathy Breeden, is based on Herzog’s grandmother, a character who originally appeared in THE REVOLUTION, and is a 91-year-old member of the Communist Party. Breeden brings Grandma to life in a reality that made me think of my grandmother before she passed. One moment she is yelling at Leo, or trying to manipulate him to do what she thinks is best, and the next moment she has the audience laughing at her fantastic portrayal of Vera.

Leo Joseph-Connell, played by Alec Bridges, is based on Herzog’s cousin who lost a good friend. This is the first dramatic role I have had the good fortune to see Bridges appear in, and I am astonished at the talent I witnessed on Sunday. The other shows have all been musicals; ROCKY HORROR SHOW, THE CRAFT, etc., and he has demonstrated great talent, but watching 4000 MILES let me see a side of this marvelous actor that I hope to see time and time again. His performance is worth the cost of a ticket alone, he is destined to be one of Kansas City’s best.

Also appearing in the play are Katie Force, Lacy Goettling, and Afton Lin. Katie plays Leo’s girlfriend who wants to break up with him. She gives a dynamic performance in her first professional appearance on the theatrical stage. Afton plays Amanda, the girl that Leo meets and brings home to grandma’s house. That sounds like something from Little Red Riding Hood, but in this scenario, Amanda feels that Grandma is the big bad wolf. Lacy plays the part of Lily, Leo’s sister, who we don’t see on stage, but rather as the other end of a phone call he makes. Kudos to casting for putting together such a talented group of actors to bring 4000 MILES to life.

4000 MILES continues at The Warwick Theatre through November 19. Purchase tickets online at www.warwickkc.org/copy-of-2022-23-season. The area has considerable road work in progress and best directions to the theater may be obtained at www.warwickkc.org.

Photos courtesy of Lacy Goettling and The Met at the Warwick

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