The Browning family screams in terror after waking up to an oncoming semi in a scene from this year’s M State spring play, “Leaving Iowa.” Pictured, front row, left to right, are Maezyn Haugen and Jacob Berg. In back, left to right, are Sam Lehne, Brodie Sandford and Cherise Wales. (M State)
Fergus Falls, MN – The M State Drama Department is gearing up for its spring production.
A “sweet tribute to the Midwest and the summer family road trip,” is how Stefanie Gerhardson describes “Leaving Iowa,” this year’s spring play at M State. Gerhardson is an M State Theatre faculty member and the play’s director.
“It’s a comedy about family vacations,” she adds. “The wood-paneled station wagon, Mom and Dad in the front, kids in the back, no air conditioning and Dad running the radio.”
The story centers on Don Browning, a middle-aged writer who attempts to take his father’s ashes back to his childhood home, as requested, only to discover that the old house is now a grocery store. As he travels across Iowa in search of a proper resting place, driving all those old familiar roads, Don recalls the annual, torturous vacations of his youth. The story shifts back and forth between the present and the past, and ultimately, Don’s existential journey leads him to an unpredictable and perfect destination.
“I love humorous plays about the Midwest,” Gerhardson says. “They are fun to direct, perform, and audiences love them. I also love shows that have flexible casting, and in ‘Leaving Iowa,’ seven actors play over 25 quirky characters.”
Performances will be held at the Waage Theatre, on M State’s Fergus Falls campus, at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, March 28th and 29th, and again on April 4th and 5th. A 2 p.m. matinee will be held on Sunday, April 6th.
Story courtesy of M State.
