LEAVING IOWA @ POWPAC

“Leaving Iowa”: A Bundle of Charm That Leaves Something to be Desired

Words by Kristen Fogle

“Leaving Iowa,” by Tim Clue and Spike Manton and directed by Keith A. Anderson, comes to POWPAC with a dollop of laughs and a whole lot of heart. It tells the story of an impromptu (yet purposeful) road trip by a well meaning son through miles of America some of us seldom forget about.

“Leaving Iowa” is about Don Browning, now a writer in Boston, who, like many, suffered through countless road trips with his family as a child. The play moves back and forth, sometimes in an abrupt, jerky fashion, from the present to one particular past road trip to oh-so-exciting Hannibal, Missouri, birth place of Mark Twain with Don, his sister Sis, Mom, and Dad Browning (who is a history buff and chose the obscure location for said trip). In the present, Dad Browning has been deceased for three years, and while visiting Mom and Sis for Sis’ son’s baptism in his home town of Winterset, Iowa (‘Home of the Duke!’ as many of the characters will remind), Don decides it’s time to finally put Dad’s ashes to rest where he requested—at Don’s grandparents’ house, only about two hours away. Why Don chooses such an important day to make the trek, I’m not certain, but, after he finds out his grandparents’ house is now a grocery store, Don decides to find a more suitable place for his father. He contemplates several places, but his car breaks down and in the meantime, runs into some colorful characters…all this while zig-zagging between past and present, that is.

There are many cute, wonderful moments about this piece—all set against some craft-tastic backdrop panels meant to give a postcard kind of feel; one, being the heartfelt, always-got-the-others-back, relationship between Mom and Dad, played by fantastic duo, real life husband and wife Sam and Cheryl Warner. Sis (Christine Gatlin) is the ultimate manipulative little sister, and her fights and nagging of the parents with Don (Nathan Boyer) are enjoyable and incredibly well choreographed; there is something very likable about Gatlin’s portrayal. Bud Emerson, Evan Jones, and Pati Reynolds serve as Browning relatives, everyone met on the trip to Hannibal, and those met on Don’s trip to lay his father to rest. Pati especially concocts delightfully eccentric characters, giving life to what would otherwise be standard Midwesterners such as the farmer’s wife, the career diner waitress, and the automotive tech.

The tender moments punctuate this piece, but there are many facets that make “Iowa” like those long, unbearable drives that the play references. For one…the length. “Iowa” holds its audience captive for a bit too long—the play’s three and a half hours beg to be whittled down by at least a half hour, probably more. The character of Don, and his relationship with his father, also leave something to be desired. We never really see anything that gives credence to Don’s vow to find Dad’s final resting place besides the fact that Don missed a plane to his father’s funeral and that the two didn’t always have a lot to talk about on the phone…Yes, Don is Dad’s only son, but why is he so passionate about going on this journey, or at least more passionate than Sis or Mom? Don’s character also seems a bit stilted: he facilitates between admiration/appreciation for his father and being amused by his family’s ism’s, and that’s about it. The writing also seems to favor the hokey, average family in lieu of showing a snapshot of what family’s are: units with sometimes complex issues. (For instance, the phrase: “The Brownings are unpredictable!” is at use one too many times, but how is their plight unpredictable? And how does this family show us anything outside of the typical?) “Iowa” has all the makings of demonstrating how a family can be broken and bettered through time honored trips, but instead curtails delivering any depth by simply refusing to be more than a cutesy portrait of an American familial foursome.

What “Leaving Iowa” has going is an (almost syrupy sweet) stereotypical car ride that doesn’t really give us the emotion this piece could convey; instead it just reminds us all about times in the car: times we were told to bury our noses in the “Highlights” magazine before we made our respective parents self-destruct. (And they have a great cast who can get us through what is simply, a flawed script.) For that, I’m charmed, and POWPAC is excellent at turning on the charm. Next up is “Cowgirls,” a musical, running August 24-September 30.

“Leaving Iowa”

POWPAC

6/22-7/22

13250 Poway Road

Poway, CA 92064

858-679-8085

www.powpac.com