TheRep Opens Season 35 With 4000 Miles

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Capital Repertory Theatre, now known as TheRep, located in downtown Albany, opened its 35th season with the production of “4000 Miles.”

The play details the lifestyles of a grandmother, Vera, and her long lost grandson, Leo, that spans a difference of 65-plus years. The age difference might as well have been 4,000 miles but the title refers to Leo traveling from Seattle to Boston on a bicycle loaded with his belongings strapped on the back and front wheels. If you ever tried this, it’s a trick to balance in the best of conditions let alone on a cross-country trek in all sorts of inclement weather.

It is unclear whether the play takes place in the West Village, as the author, Amy Herzog, states or the Chelsea section of Manhattan, which is referenced in the play. The apartment has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, a library study and a living room. The living room was staged with a couch and two file cabinets on either side with books strewn on both sides of the couch. I can’t imagine what the rent is for a place like this and how a 91-year old woman can afford it on just her limited income, even if it is a rent-controlled flat.

Leo popped in on his grandmother at three in the morning unannounced, dirty and grimy from bicycling. He appears to be a lazy louse throughout the first half of the 90-minute performance but in the final half hour you get to understand why he is mean and crude to his grandmother who he has not seen in many years. Vera is hard-of-hearing, forgets words and with her memory failing, all Leo seems to be able to do is curse at her and show a belligerent attitude. Respect does not appear to be in Leo’s vocabulary.

Vera, on the other hand, was thrilled to have her grandson visit, as she tells her friends and neighbors on the rotary phone with no modular connection that she can’t meet with them because her grandson is in town visiting. The play takes place in September 2007 when I’m sure all phone lines were digital and analog or rotary phones are obsolete.

Leo’s ex-girlfriend, Bec, does not invite him over to stay with her. During the play Leo picks up an Asian woman at a bar and brings her to his grandmother’s apartment. The two youngsters begin making out on the couch during the wee hours of the morning. When Vera wakes up and watches the two get it on, the woman gets upset and leaves abruptly.

This was a turning point in the play for me. You get to see a change in Leo’s attitude. He becomes more respectful, caring and thoughtful. He even stops calling his grandmother by her first name and begins calling her grandma. When the neighbor across the hall calls Vera’s apartment when she was not home, Leo answers the phone and realizes the neighbor, who is also a friend to Vera, is in distress. He goes across the hall to try to rescue the neighbor but to no avail. This is Leo’s moment showing compassion, feeling and focus on a goal in life.

The acting is well-done as three of the four performers are members of the Actors’ Equity union. The play contains language some parents might not like for their young children. Due to strong and inappropriate language I would urge parents to be cautious as some material may not be appropriate for those under 21 years old.

The role of Vera is performed by Eileen Schuyler, a Delmar resident, who is also an adjunct professor of Theatre at UAlbany, teaching acting to impressionable college students.

The play runs through October 18th.