Westport Country Playhouse Announces Comedy/Drama “4,000 Miles”, Beginning August 23rd
(L-R): Lea DiMarchi as Bec; Mia Dillon as Vera; David Kennedy, director; and Clay Singer as Leo. Photo contributed by Cynthia AstmannPress Release: Westport Country Playhouse will stage “4000 Miles,” a Pulitzer Prize finalist and Obie Award-winning comedy/drama, written by Amy Herzog and directed by David Kennedy Playhouse associate artistic director, from August 23 – September 4. The four-member cast for “4000 Miles” features Mia Dillon as Vera Joseph with Clay Singer as Leo Joseph-Connell, Lea DiMarchi as Bec, and Phoebe Holden as Amanda.
After completing a cross-country bicycle trip from the west coast, 21-year-old Leo crashes at the Greenwich Village apartment of his feisty 91-year-old grandmother Vera. Although these unlikely roommates are not always in harmony on issues of age, family, love, sex, and politics, they find an emotional connection that gives each a purpose.
“’4000 Miles’ is a profoundly compassionate look at two somewhat lost people and the moments in which they find each other, even across the enormity of a multi-generational divide,” said Kennedy. “And it may be one of the wisest plays I’ve encountered in a long time.”
Mia Dillon, a resident of Fairfield, Connecticut, first appeared onstage at Westport Country Playhouse in the 1979 pre-Broadway tryout of “Once a Catholic” for which she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award. Other Broadway credits include “Our Town” (with Paul Newman), “Crimes of the Heart” (Tony Award nomination), “Da,” “Agnes of God,” “The Miser,” “The Corn is Green,” and “Hay Fever.” Other Westport Country Playhouse credits include “Lettice and Lovage,” “A Song at Twilight” (CT Critics Circle Award nomination), “Our Town,” “Return Engagements,” “Angel Street,” and “Speed-the-Plow.” Hartford Stage credits include “Seder” (CT Critics Circle Award nomination), “Engagement Party,” and “Cloud 9” (CT Critics Circle Award). Recent film work includes “Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always” and the soon to be released “Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret.”
Clay Singer spent the past year with the Broadway National Tour of “The Band's Visit.” Credits include “Into the Woods” (Barrington Stage), “Single Rider” (Off-Broadway), and “Twelfth Night” and “Man of La Mancha” at Westport Country Playhouse. Singer is a graduate of Westport’s Staples High School, and an alumnus of Staples Players.
Lea DiMarchi’s select regional theater credits include “Oleanna” (Katonah Classic Stage); “The Miracle Worker” (Judson Theatre); and “As You Like It,” “Cyrano de Bergerac,” and “Into the Woods” (Texas Shakespeare Festival). Film/TV work includes “Hawaii Five-0” (CBS),”FBI” (CBS), and “This Is the Night” (Blumhouse). Born and raised in Honolulu, DiMarchi trained at Carnegie Mellon. leadimarchi.com
Phoebe Holden is a Taiwanese-American actor and writer from Taipei. She received her BFA in acting at NYU Tisch, where she studied at the Experimental Theatre Wing. Selected theater credits include Caroline in “I and You” (Syracuse Stage), Petra in “En Folkenfiende” (NYU Tisch Stageworks), and Claire in “Faculty Portrait” (IRT Theater).
Playwright Amy Herzog’s other plays include “After the Revolution” (Lilly Award), “The Great God Pan,” and “Belleville” (Susan Smith Blackburn Prize Finalist; Drama Desk Nomination). Herzog is a recipient of the Whiting Writers Award, Benjamin H. Danks Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Helen Merrill Award, Joan and Joseph Cullman Award for Extraordinary Creativity, and The New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award. She has taught playwriting at Bryn Mawr and Yale, and has an MFA from Yale School of Drama.
Directing “4000 Miles” is David Kennedy who is in his fourteenth season as Playhouse associate artistic director. He has directed Playhouse productions each season, including “The Invisible Hand,” which received the 2016 Connecticut Critics Circle (CCC) Award for Outstanding Production of a Play, and for which Kennedy won the CCC honor for Outstanding Director of a Play. He was previously with Dallas Theater Center, and was founding artistic director of The Lunar Society in Toronto and Milkman Theatre Group in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The creative team includes Arnulfo Moldanado, scenic design; Maiko Matsuhima, costume design; Carolina Ortiz Herrera, lighting design; Fitz Patton, sound design; Michael Rossmy, intimacy coach; Sean Sanford, props supervisor; Dana Tanner-Kennedy, dramaturg; Tara Rubin, Casting, CSA, Claire Burke, CSA, casting; Shane Schnetzler, production stage manager; Gwen Sewell, assistant stage manager; and Lauren Lambert, production assistant.
Production Sponsor is the Eunice and David Bigelow Foundation. 2022 Season Media Sponsors are Moffly Media and WSHU Public Radio.
Performance schedule is Tuesday at 7 p.m., Wednesday at 2 and 8 p.m., Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 3 and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. (No Wed. or Sat. matinees during preview week). Special series include Taste of Tuesday (August 23), LGBT Night Out (August 25), Post-Play Dialogues (August 25 and 30), Opening Night (August 27), Sunday Symposium (August 28), Backstage Pass (August 31), Thursday TalkBack (September 1), and Open Captions (September 4). Running time is approximately 100 minutes with no intermission. For the Playhouse’s 2022 season only, plays will be consolidated to a two-week performance schedule instead of the usual three-week run. More info at https://www.westportplayhouse.org/show/4000Miles/.
Single tickets for “4000 Miles” start at $30 during preview performances (August 23 - 26), and beginning August 27 Opening Night, tickets start at $50 and are subject to change based upon availability. Buy early for best prices. For information on special offers, including discounts for students, senior citizens, educators, military and first responders, Indigenous peoples, professional playwrights, and groups, as well as options for pay-what-you-will and Westport Library and Bridgeport Library passes visit www.westportplayhouse.org/visit/box-office/.
All play titles, artists, dates, and times are subject to change.
All audience members must wear a mask while inside Westport Country Playhouse. For updates on Covid-19 health and safety protocols at the Playhouse, visit https://www.westportplayhouse.org/visit/covid19safety/
For more information and to buy tickets, visit www.westportplayhouse.org, or call the box office at (203) 227-4177, toll-free at 1-888-927-7529, or visit Westport Country Playhouse, 25 Powers Court, off Route 1, Westport. Stay connected to the Playhouse on Facebook (Westport Country Playhouse), follow on Twitter (@WCPlayhouse), and on YouTube (WestportPlayhouse).
Another Marina Moment
Another marina scene from the Ned Dimes Marina boathouse. Photo by JD Dworkow for WestportLocal.com
“Racist Graffiti” Found at Compo Basketball Court; Westport Police Investigating
Press ReleaseFirst Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker and Police Chief Foti Koskinas made the following statement today regarding racist graffiti that was found on Town property:
Late last evening, Parks & Recreation employees, in the course of their routine duties, discovered racist graffiti on the basketball courts at Compo Beach.
These employees immediately contacted their supervisor and the Westport Police Department. The Police Department responded, documented the evidence, and opened an investigation, which is ongoing.
The offensive graffiti was removed and the basketball courts were cleaned and opened for recreational play as of 7:00 AM this morning.
First Selectwoman Tooker stated, “In my short term in office, I have repeatedly talked about ensuring that Westport is a community where everyone feels like they belong. This incident runs completely contrary to that goal and is inexcusable.”
She continued, “I am grateful to the Parks & Recreation Department employees and the Police Department for the swift action they took to address the situation professionally and respectfully.”
Anyone having any information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact the Police Department at 203-341-6000.
Westport COVID-19 Cases Up 22; State Positivity Rate, Hospitalizations Up
The State Department of Public Health reported 22 more COVID-19 cases in Westport over the past day. The State positivity rate was up to 11.52% while hospitalizations were up to 318 patients.
Westport total positive or probable cases: 5,541 cases.
Westport total COVID-19 Deaths: 38 deaths
State Daily Test Positivity: 11.52% [up from 11.44%]
State COVID-19 Hospitalizations: 318 patients [down from 296]