Family Bond Inspires Heartwarming Herzog Play 4000 Miles; October 18-November 17 on the Segerstrom Stage

Playwright Amy Herzog looked close to home when writing 4000 Miles; her own grandmother inspired the creation of the play's character, Vera.

4000 Miles-a Pulitzer Prize finalist-is the next offering in South Coast Repertory's 50th Season. The show runs Oct. 18-Nov. 17 on the Segerstrom Stage. Tickets are available online: www.scr.org.

Herzog also set the play in her grandmother's Greenwich Village apartment in New York City, and admitted-in a newspaper interview-that she used her grandmother's own "words, habits and history" in the play. When she describes the fictional Vera as being "tiny and frail but not without fortitude," Herzog is really talking about her grandmother.

4000 Miles is the story of 91-year-old Vera, an old-world Leftie, and her 21-year-old grandson, Leo, a New Age hippie. After a cross-country trip, Leo surprises Vera at her New York apartment in the middle of the night with a backpack, a bike, no money and no direction in his life. She agrees to let him spend the night without telling his mom; a few weeks later, he's still there.

Herzog is no stranger to South Coast Repertory. She spent time writing at SCR in 2011, while her husband, Sam Gold, directed Annie Baker's Circle Mirror Transformation in 2011.

The cast for 4000 Miles includes Matt Caplan as Leo, Annika Marks as Bec, Klarissa Mesee as Amanda and Jenny O'Hara as Vera.

The design and creative team includes Ralph Funicello, scenic design; Sara Clement, costume design; Lonnie Alcaraz, lighting design; Cricket Myers, sound design; Josh Marchesi, production manager; and Sue Karutz, stage manager.

4000 Miles is generously supported by Honorary Producers Steve and Laurie Duncan, and Barbara Roberts and Brooke Roberts-Webb.

Tickets start at $22. Discounts are available for full-time students, patrons 25 years of age and under, fulltime educators, seniors and groups of 10 or more. For complete information, visit: www.scr.org.

Tickets: May be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or by visiting the box office at 655 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa. Performances run Oct. 18-Nov. 17. Ticket prices start at $22. Low-priced preview performances run Oct. 18-24.

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