21-year-old Leo arrives unannounced at the Greenwich Village apartment of his 91-year-old Jewish leftist grandmother Vera. As an overnight couch-surf turns into an extended stay, 4000 Miles unearths a surprising commonality between these two generations in this emotionally compelling drama.
From one of America’s brightest playwrights, this compassionate and unsentimental play explores the funny, frustrating, and ultimately life-changing relationship between a grandson learning to face his life and a grandmother who is starting to forget hers.
Studio’s Subscription Season is the core of our programming, offering an uncommonly rich repertoire of provocative contemporary writing from around the world and inventive stagings of contemporary classics.
This production of 4000 Miles was generously underwritten by Steve and Linda Skalet.
Studio Theatre dedicated the 2012-2013 Season to the memory of Jaylee M. Mead, whose generous contribution made its plays possible.
Amy Herzog’s 4000 Miles premiered as part of Lincoln Center Theater’s new works initiative LCT3 in 2011 and became the first play from LCT3 to graduate to a full Off-Broadway run at Lincoln Center Theater. The production received an OBIE Award for Best New American Play.Her other plays include Belleville (Yale Repertory Theatre, upcoming at Steppenwolf and New York Theatre Workshop), After the Revolution (Williamstown, Playwrights Horizons; John Gassner Award Nomination), The Wendy Play (ACT, San Francisco), and Hungry (Ensemble Studio Theater). Ms. Herzog is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama, and the 2011 recipient of the prestigious Whiting Writers’ Award.
(As of March 2013)
Joy Zinoman is the Founding Artistic Director at The Studio Theatre, where she directed more than 70 productions before retiring in 2010. In her 35 years at Studio, she led the theatre through 200 productions, which garnered 250 Helen Hayes nominations and many awards. She received the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Direction for A Number by Caryl Churchill and Indian Ink by Tom Stoppard, and was nominated for the award nine times. Earlier this season, Ms. Zinoman directed Sounding Beckett at Classic Stage Company in New York City. Her last plays at The Studio Theatre included American Buffalo by David Mamet, Moonlight by Harold Pinter, The History Boys by Alan Bennett, Shining City by Conor McPherson, Rock ‘n’ Roll by Tom Stoppard, The Road to Mecca by Athol Fugard, and The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh. A pioneer in the development of this neighborhood, her numerous honors include The Washington Post Award for Innovative Leadership in the Theatre Community, the Mayor’s Art Award for Excellence in an Artistic Discipline, and the Washingtonian of the Year Award. She is also a Master Teacher and Director of Curriculum at The Studio Theatre Acting Conservatory, which she founded in 1975.
(As of March 2013)
Tana Hicken has appeared at The Studio Theatre as Helen Martins in The Road to Mecca and Mrs. Lintott in The History Boys. Ms. Hicken was a member of the Arena Stage Resident Acting Company for 14 seasons where her roles included: Mary Tyrone in Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Nora in The Wild Duck, Mrs. Alving in Ghosts, and Madame Arcadi in Blithe Spirit. Locally, she has been seen at Centerstage, Everyman Theatre, Round House Theatre, Rep Stage, and The Shakespeare Theatre Company. She has also performed at The Berkshire Theatre Festival, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Denver Center Theatre Company, Goodman Theatre, Guthrie Theater, Hartford Stage Company, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Kenyon Festival Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Philadelphia Drama Guild, Stage West, and The Stratford Festival in Canada. Ms. Hicken has received two Helen Hayes Awards.
(As of March 2013)
Grant Harrison is making his Studio Theatre debut. Mr. Harrison’s recent New York credits include JOB, The Flying Latke, and the five-hour Sophocles marathon These Seven Sicknesses (Drama Desk nominated), at The Flea Theater. He also recently appeared in the EST/Youngblood production of Chiara Atik’s The Secret Catcher at Ensemble Studio Theatre. Mr. Harrison appeared in the serialized plays The Escape, The Rump Of Folly, Sealand, The True Drug Stories of Jim Simpson, and At The Mall as a part of the late-night competition #Serials @ The Flea. He is a proud mentor/volunteer at the 52nd Street Project and an alumnus of The Flea Theater’s resident acting company The Bats. Mr. Harrison holds a BA in Theater from UCLA’s School of Theater, Film, and Television.
(As of March 2013)
Heather Haney is delighted to make her Studio Theatre debut. Her other local credits include Our Class and The Moscows of Nantucket at Theater J; Pride and Prejudice at Round House Theatre; The Bacchae, Mary Stuart, Caligula, and Hedda Gabler at WSC AvantBard, where she is an Acting Company member; The Ramayana, On The Razzle, A Flea in Her Ear, and Temptation at Constellation Theatre Company, where she is an Associate Artist; Goldfish Thinking, Cat’s Cradle, Artist Descending a Staircase, and The Oogatz Man at Longacre Lea, where she is a Company member; The Last Days of Judas Iscariot at Forum Theatre; and Much Ado about Nothing at The Shakespeare Theatre Company. Ms. Haney will make her television debut in a featured role on HBO’s VEEP this spring. She holds a BA in Drama and Dance from Ithaca College.
(As of March 2013)
Annie Chang has been seen internationally in the world premiere of Wild Swans at the American Repertory Theatre and the Young Vic (London). Her other credits include The Burkinis at the Abingdon Theatre, Decade in the Harold Clurman Series at The Stella Adler Studio of Acting, Romeo and Juliet at the Camino Real Playhouse, and T.A.B. at Manhattan Theatre Rep. Ms. Chang’s television credits include The Carrie Diaries, The Following, White Collar, One Life to Live, and Girlhattan.
(As of March 2013)
Russell Metheny has designed more than 50 productions at The Studio Theatre over the past thirty-five years. Some of his Studio Theatre designs include Superior Donuts, American Buffalo, Rock ‘n’ Roll, The Seafarer, Grey Gardens, The History Boys, Shining City, Ivanov, Topdog/Underdog, The York Realist, A Class Act, The Play About the Baby, The Invention of Love, Indian Ink, bash, Far East, The Three Sisters, and The Slab Boys Trilogy. His regional credits include productions at Indiana Repertory Theatre, Great Lakes Theater Festival, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, The Old Globe, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Geffen Playhouse, Dallas Theater Center, Missouri Repertory Theatre, Studio Arena Theatre, Geva Theatre Center, Goodman Theatre, Portland Stage Company, and Weston Playhouse. Recent productions include A Little Night Music, Blithe Spirit, The House That Jack Built, 1776, My Fair Lady, Jekyll and Hyde, Two Gentlemen of Verona. Upcoming productions include Philadelphia, Here I Come! for Asolo Repertory Theatre and 1776 for American Contemporary Theatre in San Francisco, both with director Frank Galati.
(As of March 2013)
Daniel MacLean Wagner served as Resident Lighting Designer at Studio Theatre from 1984-1997, designing more than 50 productions. He recently designed The Apple Family Cycle (2015) in the Milton Theatre, Bad Jews in the Mead Theatre, The Apple Family Plays (2013) in the Milton Theatre, and 4000 Miles in the Mead Theatre. He has designed more than 400 productions at many other theatres, including Arden Theatre Company, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Boston Lyric Opera, New Repertory Theatre, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Portland Stage Company, Arena Stage, Shakespeare Theatre Company, The Kennedy Center, Signature Theatre, Round House Theatre, Theatre of the First Amendment, Horizons Theatre, Potomac Theatre Project, Rep Stage, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, and Olney Theatre Center. He is an eight-time recipient of the Helen Hayes Award, for which he has received 28 nominations. Recent designs include Awake and Sing! at Olney Theatre; Fool for Love, Seminar, and This at Round House Theatre; and Freud's Last Session at Theater J; upcoming productions include Freud’s Last Session at New Repertory Theatre. Mr. Wagner holds the rank of Professor Emeritus at the University of Maryland, where he served as Professor of Lighting Design from 1990-2014 and Director of the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies from 2001-2012.
(As of October 2015)
Helen Huang designs her 29th production at Studio with White Pearl. Her regional credits include Alice in Wonderland at Oregon Shakespeare Festival; The Great Leap at Guthrie Theater; Matilda the Musical at The Children’s Theatre, Minneapolis; and Miss Bennet and Christmas at Pemberley at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. DC area credits include JQA at Arena Stage; A Doll’s House, Part 2 at Roundhouse; Fences at Ford’s Theatre; Me…Jane at The Kennedy Center; and Fickle: A Fancy French Farce at Olney Theatre Center. She has received a Helen Hayes Award and an Ivey Award. Helen is a professor of MFA Costume Design at University of Maryland, College Park.
(As of October 2019)
Lindsay Jones is pleased to return to Studio Theatre, where he also designed sound for Sucker Punch. His Off Broadway credits include Mr. Joy at LCT3, Rx at Primary Stages, Through the Night at Union Square Theatre, Wild With Happy at the Public Theater, The Burnt Part Boys at Playwrights Horizons, and Top Secret at New York Theatre Workshop, among many others. His regional credits include shows at the Guthrie Theatre, Centerstage, Goodman Theatre, Alley Theatre, Arena Stage, The Old Globe, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and many others. Internationally, Mr. Jones has worked at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Canada and the Royal Shakespeare Company in England, as well as on productions in Austria, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Scotland. Mr. Jones has received six Joseph Jefferson Awards and 16 nominations, two Ovation Awards and three nominations, an LA Drama Critics Circle Award, and two Drama Desk Award nominations. His original film scoring includes HBO Films’ A Note Of Triumph (2006 Academy Award for Best Documentary) and The Brass Teapot for Magnolia Pictures.
(As of March 2013)
John Keith Hall's DC credits include many productions at Studio Theatre including Bad Jews, Choir Boy, Water by the Spoonful, Tribes, Torch Song Trilogy, 4000 Miles, Sucker Punch, In The Red And Brown Water, The History Boys, Adding Machine: A Musical, and The Road To Mecca; Hir, The Nether, and An Octoroon at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company; Soon, SCKBSTD, and West Side Story at Signature Theatre; Sweeney Todd, Mary Poppins, and The Producers at Olney Theatre Center. Regional credits include several seasons as a Resident Stage Manager at The Barter Theatre in Virginia where he supervised over 40 productions, Shadowland Stages in New York, and Virginia Musical Theatre in Virginia Beach. A graduate of Virginia’s Longwood University, Mr. Hall is a proud member of the Actors’ Equity Association.
(As of September 2017)
