‘Leaving Iowa’

Back Alley Productions stages comedy about family road-trip vacations

Back Alley Productions is presenting “Leaving Iowa,” a stage comedy about family vacations, over the next three weekends at The Mars Theater in LaFayette, Ga. Six evening performances and three Sunday matinees are scheduled beginning Friday, July 8, and concluding Sunday, July 24.

“This show is for anyone who has ever found themselves driving familiar roads and revisiting happy memories from old summer trips,” says David Craig, director of the show.

“The play focuses on Don Browning, a writer who attempts to take his father’s ashes back to his childhood home only to discover the house is gone and a grocery store stands in its place. Without a Plan B for his father’s final resting place, Don begins driving aimlessly through childhood roads, while revisiting memories of the annual, torturous Browning road trips. Don’s memories will come alive onstage to a mix of laughter and reflection on the importance of family. It’ll bring a smile to your face as Don finds the right route and his own self along the way.”

The production has some mild, PG-level language, Craig says, but is a great story for all types of families. The show runs about two hours, with a 15-minute intermission. The play is written by Tim Clue and Spike Manton, New York- based playwrights with backgrounds in stand-up and improv comedy.

“The reason I picked this show to direct is because it reminded me so much of my own family,” says Craig. “The crazy misadventures, the sibling fights, the strange and kitschy tourist traps. The Browning family encounters so many quirky people on the American road and has so many misdirections on their perfect route, that took me back to my own family trips. It’s a fun, relatable story because most of us have had similar experiences firsthand. It’s a quintessential American experience to plan the perfect family trip, but something happens along the way and you end up having an even better trip than you planned, albeit insane at times. All ages will enjoy it. It’s really perfect for the summer, too.”

For more information, call 706996-8350 or search Back Alley Productions on Facebook.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Appearing in the Back Alley Productions presentation of “Leaving Iowa” are, from left, Karen Stoll, Sarah Lapp, Michael Tate and James Lanier.