{"id":7936,"date":"2014-09-26T00:09:08","date_gmt":"2014-09-26T07:09:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=7936"},"modified":"2014-09-25T18:26:29","modified_gmt":"2014-09-26T01:26:29","slug":"amy-herzogs-4000-miles-offers-4000-laughs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2014\/09\/26\/amy-herzogs-4000-miles-offers-4000-laughs\/","title":{"rendered":"Amy Herzog\u2019s 4000 Miles offers 4,000 laughs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nathan Barrett and Nicola Cavendish in\u00a0Amy Herzog\u2019s 4000 Miles.\u00a0<\/em>(photo by David Cooper)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I can be quite nervous going to see a play that relies on only one or two main actors to carry the production, particularly when those one or two have most of the dialogue, and the action takes place in only one room for the entire performance.<\/p>\n

But my concern is never that great when Nicola Cavendish is one of the two involved because I know I will laugh out loud, stifle tears and otherwise experience a full, rich range of emotions. I was not disappointed when I caught Cavendish in Amy Herzog\u2019s 4000 Miles<\/em>.<\/p>\n

In this starring role, Cavendish plays 91-year-old Vera whose grandson Leo (Nathan Barrett) comes to stay with her after a cross-continent bike trip during which his best friend died.<\/p>\n

Leo has come to stay with his grandmother due to lack of cash, being estranged from his mother and in an uncertain position with his girlfriend.<\/p>\n

At first Leo appears to be the clich\u00e9d lost soul \u2013 not entirely the self-absorbed persona you expect to find in a 21-year-old \u2013 who brings to Vera a companionship the older woman is missing. The reunion is filled with laughs right off the top as Vera\u2019s hearing problems cause havoc in the communication.<\/p>\n

Vera herself is savvy, but tough, and pulls no punches when giving her opinion.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou smell terrible and I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if you have lice,\u201d she says to Leo in one of the first lines of the play.<\/p>\n

The relationship starts with Leo showing warmth to an uncomfortable Vera, who\u2019s more used to complaining all the time than accepting someone\u2019s love; and it\u2019s quickly revealed that<\/p>\n

Vera really only wants what\u2019s best for her grandson, like a good night\u2019s sleep.<\/p>\n

Vera shows interest in Leo\u2019s recent trip as well, albeit on the weird side, asking Leo if he ever met a sexual crackpot wanting favors in exchange for giving Leo a place to stay.<\/p>\n

The two soon start talking about family, and Vera admits she also has a dysfunctional relationship with Leo\u2019s mother: \u201cI always end up telling her what a disappointment she was to her father,\u201d Vera sighs. \u201cI don\u2019t mean to, but I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not long before Leo\u2019s \u201cone-day visit\u201d turns into a lengthy stay and the well-meaning free spirit starts acting like a freeloader, even bringing one-night stands over to the apartment.<\/p>\n

Vera, for her part, turns into a crotchety micro-manager who\u2019s defensive and fearful. She starts to lecture Leo on responsibility, and doesn\u2019t hesitate to show an angry frustrated side when she feels her space is being infringed upon.<\/p>\n

In one brilliantly funny scene, Leo\u2019s girlfriend comes over and drops her bag in the middle of the living room. Walking by the bag, Vera nonchalantly gives it a kick and, with surprising results, sends it flying a good 10 feet back to the front door \u2013 eliciting laughs and applause from the audience.<\/p>\n

Vera\u2019s progressive loss of memory, while a bane for her (\u201cI hate not being able to find the right words\u201d), is also a source for comedic enjoyment in the play, especially when she and Leo smoke pot together.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour father never did anything for me in bed,\u201d she says, mistakenly referencing her daughter. \u201cNeither of my husbands did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWere my parents in love?\u201d<\/p>\n

Leo asks during this baring of stoned souls.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich ones were your parents?\u201d Vera dopily responds.<\/p>\n

While this play is not likely to offer deep insights that will turn your world around and cause you to run out to reconcile with every estranged member of your family, it is a warm, wonderfully written snapshot of two somewhat lost people who come together with love and humor.<\/p>\n

4000 Miles<\/em> ran Off-Broadway in 2011 and again in 2012, and was a finalist for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for drama. It shows at the Arts Club Stanley Theatre until Oct. 12. Visit artsclub.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Baila Lazarus<\/strong> is a Vancouver-based writer, painter and photographer. Her work can be seen at orchiddesigns.net<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nathan Barrett and Nicola Cavendish in\u00a0Amy Herzog\u2019s 4000 Miles.\u00a0(photo by David Cooper) I can be quite nervous going to see a play that relies on only one or two main actors to carry the production, particularly when those one or two have most of the dialogue, and the action takes place in only one room […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7914,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[785],"tags":[2074,490,2075,2073],"class_list":["post-7936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-performing-arts","tag-amy-herzog","tag-arts-club","tag-nathan-barrett","tag-nicola-cavendish"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7936"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7936\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}