Comedy recalls family vacations
By Joanne Fox, Journal staff writer | Posted: Friday, September 19, 2008
Debra Marqusee, Angela Iversen, Matt Rixner and Christopher Gaul rehearse a scene from "Leaving Iowa," the next play at Lamb Productions. (Staff photo by Jim Lee)
Remember those childhood vacations you tried to forget?
They are recreated in the next show at Lamb Productions.
Told in flashback, this sentimental comedy features Don Browning (Matt Rixner) who returns home to Winterset, Iowa to find a final resting place for his father's ashes. As the journalist searches for the perfect spot to scatter the ashes, he relives the summer vacations he spent as a boy trapped in the family station wagon with Mom (Debra Marqusee), Dad (Christopher Gaul), and Sis (Angela Iversen). Along the way the family meets multiple quirky characters from Grandpa to Grandma to hog farmer to waitress portrayed by Rick Myers and Melissa Hunt.
"I saw the show about two years ago at the Royal George in Chicago, where the show played for over a year," said Russ Wooley, director. "What attracted me to the play was that it had Iowa in the title. Once I saw it, I decided to go after it to produce it here."
The appeal of the show is its ability to recreate the memories of family vacations, Wooley said.
"If it's two days or two weeks, there's something about spending time with your family in a car or an RV or a fifth-wheeler," he said. "What's marvelous is the playwrights have captured those feelings."
Nominated for Best New Play by the American Theatre Critics Association, the show was written by Chicago comedians and radio personalities, Tim Clue and Spike Manton. The experiences will appeal to folks ages 10 to 110, Wooley said.
"What the playwrights have written leaps and cuts across all generations," he said. "When I think about family vacations I remember, they have the same elements that are talked about in the play.
"But even the younger actors are talking about the same things, the same events from their vacations," he continued. "Sometimes it's wonderful memories, sometimes it's infamous memories."
The show is set in the present day with flashbacks to the vacations, Wooley explained.
"It's a contemporary piece, not a period one," he said.
Capturing the feel of vacationing in Iowa was the responsibility of scene designer Michael Rohlena, Wooley said.
"For this show Mike got his inspiration from Grant Wood murals," he said, referring to the legendary Iowa artist. "The set has captured that feeling right on."
But the heartwarming aspect of the show is still the reliving of the summers, Wooley said.
"Theater tells stories and that's how it connects with the audience," he said. "When that connection occurs, it's a joy for the audience as well as the actors."
The theme behind the show is simply one of family, Wooley said.
"I dare say the audience will walk out telling their own stories about family vacations they remember," he said. "And of realizing that the journey is sometimes just as memorable as the destination."
The comedy replaces the original season opener, "Panic: the story behind the War of the Worlds broadcast." The change was made due to "unavoidable scheduling difficulties," Wooley explained. "Panic" will play April 24 to May 17, 2009.
Another change at Lamb Productions is the addition of 200 new seats in the theater, thanks to fund-raising efforts of the Lamb Arts Ltd. board, Wooley said. Lamb Arts Ltd., a nonprofit organization, was initiated in August 2006 to support the performing arts and to provide access and arts education opportunities. Lamb Arts Ltd. uses Lamb Productions and The Lamb School of Theatre, Music and Art as the vehicles in which to provide community outreach programs.
"Leaving Iowa" opens Friday and runs through Oct. 12 at Lamb Productions, 417 Market St. Curtain is 7:30 p.m. with two matinees at 1:30 p.m. Ticket prices are $22 for Friday/Saturday for adults; Thursday/Sunday are $21 for adults; and senior citizens (62+) and students for Thursday/Sunday are $17. Tickets are available at the door or by calling the box office, Monday through Friday from 1 to 5 p.m. at 255-9536.
They are recreated in the next show at Lamb Productions.
Told in flashback, this sentimental comedy features Don Browning (Matt Rixner) who returns home to Winterset, Iowa to find a final resting place for his father's ashes. As the journalist searches for the perfect spot to scatter the ashes, he relives the summer vacations he spent as a boy trapped in the family station wagon with Mom (Debra Marqusee), Dad (Christopher Gaul), and Sis (Angela Iversen). Along the way the family meets multiple quirky characters from Grandpa to Grandma to hog farmer to waitress portrayed by Rick Myers and Melissa Hunt.
"I saw the show about two years ago at the Royal George in Chicago, where the show played for over a year," said Russ Wooley, director. "What attracted me to the play was that it had Iowa in the title. Once I saw it, I decided to go after it to produce it here."
The appeal of the show is its ability to recreate the memories of family vacations, Wooley said.
"If it's two days or two weeks, there's something about spending time with your family in a car or an RV or a fifth-wheeler," he said. "What's marvelous is the playwrights have captured those feelings."
Nominated for Best New Play by the American Theatre Critics Association, the show was written by Chicago comedians and radio personalities, Tim Clue and Spike Manton. The experiences will appeal to folks ages 10 to 110, Wooley said.
"What the playwrights have written leaps and cuts across all generations," he said. "When I think about family vacations I remember, they have the same elements that are talked about in the play.
"But even the younger actors are talking about the same things, the same events from their vacations," he continued. "Sometimes it's wonderful memories, sometimes it's infamous memories."
The show is set in the present day with flashbacks to the vacations, Wooley explained.
"It's a contemporary piece, not a period one," he said.
Capturing the feel of vacationing in Iowa was the responsibility of scene designer Michael Rohlena, Wooley said.
"For this show Mike got his inspiration from Grant Wood murals," he said, referring to the legendary Iowa artist. "The set has captured that feeling right on."
But the heartwarming aspect of the show is still the reliving of the summers, Wooley said.
"Theater tells stories and that's how it connects with the audience," he said. "When that connection occurs, it's a joy for the audience as well as the actors."
The theme behind the show is simply one of family, Wooley said.
"I dare say the audience will walk out telling their own stories about family vacations they remember," he said. "And of realizing that the journey is sometimes just as memorable as the destination."
The comedy replaces the original season opener, "Panic: the story behind the War of the Worlds broadcast." The change was made due to "unavoidable scheduling difficulties," Wooley explained. "Panic" will play April 24 to May 17, 2009.
Another change at Lamb Productions is the addition of 200 new seats in the theater, thanks to fund-raising efforts of the Lamb Arts Ltd. board, Wooley said. Lamb Arts Ltd., a nonprofit organization, was initiated in August 2006 to support the performing arts and to provide access and arts education opportunities. Lamb Arts Ltd. uses Lamb Productions and The Lamb School of Theatre, Music and Art as the vehicles in which to provide community outreach programs.
"Leaving Iowa" opens Friday and runs through Oct. 12 at Lamb Productions, 417 Market St. Curtain is 7:30 p.m. with two matinees at 1:30 p.m. Ticket prices are $22 for Friday/Saturday for adults; Thursday/Sunday are $21 for adults; and senior citizens (62+) and students for Thursday/Sunday are $17. Tickets are available at the door or by calling the box office, Monday through Friday from 1 to 5 p.m. at 255-9536.
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