"Leaving Iowa" now here

A new play called “Leaving Iowa” has finally arrived in Iowa for the first time. Co-writer Spike Manton says the comedy focuses on a man who returns to his hometown of Winterset to honor his father’s last request that his ashes be spread at the family homestead. The problem is, grandma’s house has been torn down and is now a grocery store so he ends up driving around Iowa, trying to decide what to do with the ashes and as he drives, he reflects on the family vacations he took long ago. Manton calls the play a tribute to family vacations and to dads. He grew up in a small farm town in New York and drew on his own experiences that included a long family vacation to Ohio. Manton says his father is from the generation that only knew about work and family “and then one week a year they crammed you in the car with a shoehorn and took you as far as they could drive and then drive back — and that was a vacation.” The play’s co-writer is Tim Clue, a native of Independence, Iowa. Since this is the play’s debut in Iowa, Manton says he hopes it’s well received here. He says he’s a little nervous as “it’s like bringin’ it home for approval.” If Manton’s name or voice sounds familiar, that’s because he was a stand-up comic before becoming a playwright and he’s played many Iowa cities. “Leaving Iowa” runs this weekend and next Thursday through Sunday at the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines. For more information, surf to “www.civiccenter.org.”