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Arts & Entertainment

'Leaving Iowa' to Premiere at PowPAC

In reminiscing about his summer road trips as a kid, a journalist comes to grips with his father's death.

Kick off the summer with , a comedy about family vacations and road trips. 

“We want the audiences to come prepared to laugh at all the oddball characters and events on the family road trips—there are many scenes that are touching, sentimental, and comical,” Co-producer Mary Anderson said.

The show will run at the  from June 22 to July 22. There are Friday and Saturday performances that begin at 8 p.m., while Sunday shows begin at 2 p.m.

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The production centers around a journalist who returns to his family homestead in Iowa, where he plans to honor his father’s wishes of spreading his ashes. Unfortunately, he learns that his childhood home is now a grocery store.

Anderson, who is from Iowa, can relate to Don, the main character.

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“When my husband and I were married in Iowa, we were married in one of my favorite tiny, wooden churches,” Anderson said. “Last time I had been home, that church had been leveled and there was a (store) equivalent to a 7-Eleven there.”

Don does not want to tell his mother and sister about the homestead’s replacement, so he goes on a road trip to find another resting place for his father. Along the way, he flashes back to memories of summer road trips with his family to uninteresting historical sites.

“We want them to identify with the characters and take away their own memories of their own family trips and their own family relationships,” Anderson said. “Because that’s what all this is about—family relationships and the nostalgia you feel when you’ve lost someone and valuing the people you still have.”

Anderson also wants the audience to discover Don’s realizations.

“We want them to take away that feel-good moment that the family shares, especially with Don and his dad,” Anderson said. “Since his dad has passed, he (has) one of those moments of acceptance and being able to laugh and smile at the cherished memories.”

The cast features Nathan Boyer as Don, Christine Gatlin as Sis, Cheryl Warner as Mom and Sam Warner as Dad. 

“It’s a delightful cast to work with,” Anderson said. “They’re very professional, they do their homework and examine their characters.”

Bud Emerson, Evan Jones and Pati Reynolds play various characters the family encounters on different road trips. Leaving Iowa is directed by Keith Anderson and written by Tim Clue and Spike Manton.

“There are some wonderful scenes with the three character actors that play many, many roles,” Anderson said. “Each one of characters ... are going to stick out in (each audience member’s) minds and it’s going to be different ones for every person.”

Anderson said a challenge with this particular play is that it is a memory piece and that they need to delineate transitions.

“The challenge with this play is to make it very clear when we’re in the present with Don and when we’ve gone to a flashback with his family,” Anderson said. “We’re doing that through slight costume indications, primarily the lighting, and the acting.”

Tickets cost $18 for general admission and $15 for seniors and students. The theater is handicap accessible. To make a reservation, call (858) 679-8085 or email boxoffice@powpac.org.

• There will be a  at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 21 at . The free, weekly event features the Gomez Blues Project.

• The Poway Center for Performing Arts is hosting a fundraiser called Taste of Our Towne at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. The inaugural event features fine dining, wines, dancing, music and prizes. The event, which costs $100, supports the POW! Foundation, which books professional artists for PCPA. 

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