Rehearsals Now Underway for 4000 MILES at Park Square

Park Square continues its 2014-2015 season next month with the regional debut of 4000 MILES by Amy Herzog. Winner of the 2012 Obie Award for Best New Play, 4000 MILES is a surprising and moving portrait of a family's distance and their hope in overcoming it. Vera (Linda Kelsey*) is a hippie from way back, but she isn't very welcoming when her aimless grandson (Gabriel Murphy) takes up residence in her apartment. When the play premiered Off-Broadway, the New York Times called it "a funny, moving, altogether wonderful drama... a heartening reminder that a keen focus on life's small moments can pay off in a big way onstage."

In the middle of the night, 21-year-old Leo arrives on his grandmother's doorstep. Jobless, aimless and apparently alone, Leo has traveled across the country on his bike. Vera is happy to see her grandson, but she knows something is amiss. The two should be able to find common ground - Leo has inherited Vera's lefty views - but they find nothing that connects them. Just when their seven-decade age difference threatens to drive them apart once and for all, a terrible secret from Leo's past surfaces. A young man and an old woman try to bridge a generational divide wider than miles and rediscover a family's heart.

Playwright Amy Herzog has been hailed as one of America's most promising young playwrights, composing dramas and thrillers as heartfelt as they are unflinching. 4000 MILES is the second play Herzog has written using her own grandmother (who participated in the Occupy Wall Street protests) as the model for a fragile but resilient woman to whom it falls to keep a family together. As Vera and Leo adjust to their new living arrangements, it's soon clear that while the young man may have ridden 4000 miles on his bike, he may not have the endurance of his grandmother.

4000 MILES also features Joann Oudekerk as Leo's love interest and Becca Hart as his old flame.

Elizabeth Efteland is the offstage voice of Lily. Gary Gisselman is directing the play and Samuel Fiorillo is the Assistant Director. The production team includes Aaron Chvatal (Costume Designer), Rick Poleneck (Scenic Designer), Ben Olsen (Assistant Scenic Director), Kellie Larson (Properties Designer), and Michael P. Kittel (Lighting Designer); C. Andrew Mayer (Sound Designer). Kristy Goebel* is stage manager and Shayna J. Houp, assistant stage manager.

Performance Schedule: Previews begin Friday, December 5 and run through December 11. December 12 is Opening Night, and the run continues through December 21. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. except for Sunday performances and Saturday matinees, which begin at 2 p.m. All performances are in the company's new 200-seat Andy Boss Thrust stage in Saint Paul's historic Hamm Building, 20 W. Seventh Place.

Ticket prices: Previews: $25 and $35. Regular Run: $38 and $58. A $2 facility fee will be added to each ticket to help maintain Park Square's two stages. Discounts are available for seniors, those under age 30, and groups. Tickets are on sale at the Park Square box office, 20 W. Seventh Place, or by phone: 651.291.7005, (12 noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday), or online at www.parksquaretheatre.org.

*Member, Actors Equity Association