NOSTALGIC COMEDY LEAVING IOWA ARRIVES AT THE
LAGUNA PLAYHOUSE FOR ITS WEST COAST PREMIERE
NOVEMBER 11 – DECEMBER 14, 2008
LAGUNA PLAYHOUSE FOR ITS WEST COAST PREMIERE
NOVEMBER 11 – DECEMBER 14, 2008
New play by Tim Clue and Spike Manton is a Sentimental
and Humorous Ode to Families—and Family Vacations
and Humorous Ode to Families—and Family Vacations
Remember those childhood family vacations you tried to forget? Those memories will come flooding back when you come to The Laguna Playhouse for the West Coast Premiere of Leaving Iowa by Tim Clue and Spike Manton November 11 – December 14, 2008.
Told in flashback, this hilarious sentimental comedy about a journalist who returns home to Winterset, Iowa to find a final resting place for his father’s ashes is a nostalgic ode to days gone by. As the journalist searches for the perfect spot to scatter the ashes, he relives the summer vacations he spent as boy trapped in the family station wagon en route to uninteresting historical sites with well-meaning but naïve parents and a bickering sibling. With a generous dollop of humor and a heart as big as the Midwest, Leaving Iowa shows us that the journey really is as important as the destination.
“Comedy is a familiar companion, and so are memories,” says Clue. “Who hasn’t been in their car and heard a song on the radio, and all of a sudden you’re transported back to a specific time and place. That’s what I want this play to do. It’s a time capsule that needs to be captured both humorously and sincerely at the same time. Where the movie Vegas Vacation made mockery of vacations, I hope Leaving Iowa is more of a sentimental journey.”
Told in flashback, this hilarious sentimental comedy about a journalist who returns home to Winterset, Iowa to find a final resting place for his father’s ashes is a nostalgic ode to days gone by. As the journalist searches for the perfect spot to scatter the ashes, he relives the summer vacations he spent as boy trapped in the family station wagon en route to uninteresting historical sites with well-meaning but naïve parents and a bickering sibling. With a generous dollop of humor and a heart as big as the Midwest, Leaving Iowa shows us that the journey really is as important as the destination.
“Comedy is a familiar companion, and so are memories,” says Clue. “Who hasn’t been in their car and heard a song on the radio, and all of a sudden you’re transported back to a specific time and place. That’s what I want this play to do. It’s a time capsule that needs to be captured both humorously and sincerely at the same time. Where the movie Vegas Vacation made mockery of vacations, I hope Leaving Iowa is more of a sentimental journey.”
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHTS
TIM CLUE
My first writing gig was – and still is – stand-up comedy. However, in 1991 I established Short Story Theater with Marco Benassi, a multimedia theatrical company that combined short fiction adaptations with documentary footage. Greek Streets was the theater’s inaugural work; using short stories by Chicago’s Greek scribe Harry Mark Petrakis. Other Definitions of Confinement premiered at the National Jewish Theater in 1993 and introduced the life and writings of Russian political prisoner Dmitry Stonov. In 1997, Coloring Potential, focused on the stories of Chicago’s inner-city youth. In 1999, Spike Manton and I wrote and directed a Chicago-based television sitcom pilot Tiny Pig that made into the ‘can’, but not on TV. Like all failed projects, it is currently being adapted into a comedy musical. Leaving Iowa is also being written as a screenplay. I grew up in Rochelle, IL, and I still live in Chicago with my wife, Kathryn Lake, and one cat, no kids, and no station wagon.
SPIKE MANTON
I was born on a farm in upstate New York, but my parents moved us to a bustling metropolis of almost two thousand people, where I grew up in your standard 1960’s family unit of four kids, two parents and one station wagon. As child number three, I am very familiar with the seating location known as “the way back.” After graduating Bradley University, I moved to Chicago, quit my cushy Procter & Gamble sales job, got married and began a career in standup comedy. Standup lead to some cable TV shows like Evening at the Improv, MTV and Comedy Central and more importantly, a career in radio. Over the past 10 years I have been on The Steve Dahl Show, ESPN Radio and the LOOP. Along the way, I have been trying to create, write and produce from right here in Chicago with my college friend, Tim Clue. Leaving Iowa is the best example of executing that plan to date. Finally, I need to credit my wife, Tami for the work she did with the production. It was way more than Group Sales, and while I’m still not sure I recommend working with your spouse, I am more than grateful.
I was born on a farm in upstate New York, but my parents moved us to a bustling metropolis of almost two thousand people, where I grew up in your standard 1960’s family unit of four kids, two parents and one station wagon. As child number three, I am very familiar with the seating location known as “the way back.” After graduating Bradley University, I moved to Chicago, quit my cushy Procter & Gamble sales job, got married and began a career in standup comedy. Standup lead to some cable TV shows like Evening at the Improv, MTV and Comedy Central and more importantly, a career in radio. Over the past 10 years I have been on The Steve Dahl Show, ESPN Radio and the LOOP. Along the way, I have been trying to create, write and produce from right here in Chicago with my college friend, Tim Clue. Leaving Iowa is the best example of executing that plan to date. Finally, I need to credit my wife, Tami for the work she did with the production. It was way more than Group Sales, and while I’m still not sure I recommend working with your spouse, I am more than grateful.
Performance & Ticket Information:
Ticket Prices: $25 to $65
Previews:
November 11 – 14
Ticket Prices: $25 to $65
Previews:
November 11 – 14
Regular Performances
November 16 – December 14, 2008
November 16 – December 14, 2008
Tuesday – Saturday evenings at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m.
Thursday matinee November 13: 2:00 p.m.
Wednesday matinee November 26: 2:00 p.m.
Sunday evenings, November 30 & December 7: 7:00 p.m.
(no performances on Thanksgiving Day, November 27)
Saturday & Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m.
Thursday matinee November 13: 2:00 p.m.
Wednesday matinee November 26: 2:00 p.m.
Sunday evenings, November 30 & December 7: 7:00 p.m.
(no performances on Thanksgiving Day, November 27)
Special Half Price Tickets for Students, Teachers and Military with ID:
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday Evenings / Saturday Matinees
FOR INFORMATION & TO PURCHASE TICKETS:
CALL: 949.497.ARTS (2787) - GROUP SALES: 949.497.2787 ext. 229
VISIT: www.LagunaPlayhouse.com
MOULTON THEATRE: 606 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach, California
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday Evenings / Saturday Matinees
FOR INFORMATION & TO PURCHASE TICKETS:
CALL: 949.497.ARTS (2787) - GROUP SALES: 949.497.2787 ext. 229
VISIT: www.LagunaPlayhouse.com
MOULTON THEATRE: 606 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach, California
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