[ssba]
4,000 Miles
Reviewed by Jenny Lower
Sierra Madre Playhouse
Through Nov. 8
RECOMMENDED
Amy Herzog’s contemporary exploration of kinship, adulthood and self-discovery receives a warm, capable production in its Los Angeles debut at the Sierra Madre Playhouse. Directed by Christian Lebano, the show offers much to appreciate, from the well-appointed set to the spot-on costume design. But the actors, like their characters, are still finding their footing: they haven’t yet arrived at the finely calibrated performances that will make this production sing.
Smelly and bedraggled at the tail end of a cross-country biking expedition, Leo (Christian Prentice) arrives at his grandmother’s New York apartment at 3 a.m. hoping for a low-profile place to crash. Vera (Mimi Cozzens), a widowed nonagenarian and former Communist with a rent-controlled apartment (and enviable collection of Mid-Century Modern furniture) agrees to put him up until he can get his bearings. Half-Hippie, half-mountain man, Leo shares Vera’s leftist leanings and her strained rapport with their common link— Jane, Leo’s fretful, conservative mother and Vera’s step-daughter.
Days stretch into weeks, and despite Leo’s attempts to avoid drama by shunning a cell phone, the coiled threads of his unconventional life gradually unspool in his grandmother’s presence. The loss that spurred his ride, the romantic confusion with his sometime girlfriend Bec (Alexandra Wright) and the familial tensions awaiting him at home crop up as Vera faces her own set of losses — a faltering memory and the inconveniences of housing a presumptuous grandson.
The play is lovely and specific, but the broad performances don’t always match the precision of the script. Vera and Leo’s affectionate but awkward relationship at the show’s heart rings true, but we never really believe Vera’s so-called Red loyalties, even when they are mostly ascribed to her dead husband. At best, she seems convincing as a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat. As Bec, Wright seems more comfortable portraying bittersweet resignation than anger, with the result that her early scenes with Leo feel more mechanical than organic. A degree more modulation would give the performances the chance they deserve—in Leo’s late-night confessional and the brief, overwhelming appearance of Amanda (Susane Lee), a drop in volume and pitch would better underscore the emotional content and create more space for a nuanced understanding of the characters.
Pablo Santiago’s lighting design creates the intimacy of an apartment refuge enveloped by the city’s early morning rays and late afternoon glow, while Kristen Kopp’s apt costumes speak to the cultural and sociopolitical context of their owners. With some fine tuning, this already solid production could excel for the remainder of its run.
Sierra Madre Playhouse, 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2:30 p.m.; through Nov. 8. (626) 355-4318; www.sierramadreplayhouse.org
