Actors Theatre Opens 4000 MILES Tonight

Actors Theatre will present Amy Herzog's 4000 Miles, a 2013 Pulitzer Prize finalist which Time Magazine called "The best play of the (2012) season, hands down," from tonight, Jan. 10-26 at Black Theatre Troupe's Helen K. Mason Performing Arts Center, 1333 E. Washington St. in Phoenix.

Directed by Matthew Wiener, 4000 Miles is the second of Actors Theatre's four plays during its post-pause 2013-14 season at venues in and around downtown Phoenix.

Devon Nickel takes on the role of 21-year-old Leo, who completes a tragedy-interrupted cross-country bicycle trip from Seattle to New York where he ends up moving in with his feisty 91-year-old grandmother Vera, a role taken on by Actors Theatre favorite Patti Davis Suarez. Courtney Weir performs as Bec, Leo's conflicted former girlfriend, and Keilani Akagi is Amanda, a free spirit Leo brings home from a bar for a one-night stand.

4000 Miles thrusts Leo and Vera into a monthlong stint as roommates who infuriate, bewilder and ultimately reach other as the two outsiders find their way in the world.

Charles Isherwood wrote in the New York Times that 4000 Miles "is the rare theatrical production that achieves perfection on its own terms." His review pointed to Herzog's "gift...to capture the precise texture of life in all its ambiguity and lack of tidy resolution, while still holding our attention fast by tapping into the compassion and curiosity about human nature that draws us (let us hope) to the theater."

Joining Wiener in the production are set designer Jeff Thomson, lighting designer Tim Monson, costume designer Lois K. Myers and stage manager Amy Gilbert.

Single tickets range from $18 for students (with ID) to $45 for VIP reserved seats. Tickets can be purchased online at www.actorstheatrephx.org. Pay-What-You-Wish performances are scheduled January 12 and 22 and half-price Rush Tickets are often available at the door.

4000 Miles previews on Friday, Jan. 10 at 8 p.m. and opens on Saturday, Jan. 11 at 8 p.m. Additional shows are scheduled Sunday, Jan. 12 at 2 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 16 at 7 p.m. (post show discussion), Friday, Jan. 17 at 8 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 18 at 8 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 19 at 2 p.m. (post show discussion), Wednesday, Jan. 22 at 7 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 23 at 7 p.m., Friday, Jan. 24 at 8 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 25 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 26 at 2 p.m.

Actors Theatre will follow 4000 Miles with Good People from April 26-May 11 at the Arizona Opera, 1636 N. Central Ave. in Phoenix. A fourth show will be announced at a later date.

For more information, visit www.actorstheatrephx.org.

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