Who knew a trip to Laguna Beach could turn into a stroll down memory lane? That’s what Laguna Playhouse’s “Leaving Iowa” tries to do for its audience.
The two-hour-plus play mixes reality with flashbacks as Don (Kevin Symons) returns to his childhood Iowa home to spread his father’s ashes. The play celebrates the heartfelt memories of childhood vacations with his sister (Erin Bennett), father (Gregory North) and mother (Jill Brennan).
The story starts with flashbacks of Don’s adult life and past family vacations, which were always road trips to seemingly uninteresting places like Missouri or the grandparents’ house. Don retraces these trips from one destination to the next in search of a resting place for the ashes.
But he soon discovers that these destinations now only exist in his memories.
Each stop takes him deeper into his past and closer to his deceased father, aided by strange, out-of-place characters played by Roy Abramsohn and J.J. Rodgers.
Some of the references and jargon are definitely aimed at Midwestern transplants, but the message of the story transcends geography.
,Kelly Ryan
