By Jennifer Yuma/GG Staff Writer
Every year, Lincoln North Star theatre has their Fall production to start out the school year and this year is no different.
This year, North Star will be putting on the production “Leaving Iowa,” a heartfelt comedy about a man who regrets his absence from his father and tries to restore the time he lost.
The show is a mixture of laughs and warming moments. At times, the audience will laugh out loud and and learn to care for the characters.
Senior Kaedyn Campbell said, “‘Leaving Iowa’ is about the character that I play, Don Browning, a writer from Boston who goes on a quest to bury his father’s ashes after the family neglects doing so for three years. He goes through a series of flashbacks and moments that he had with his father and the rest of his family and all of the interesting people that he met along the way.”
Although it is a play for a younger audience, the moral of the show can resonate with all ages. “The overall theme is appreciate the people and the times you had while they’re here, so when they’re gone, you’re not going to have any regrets,” said Campbell.
“It’s so easy to take little things for granted. Simply going fishing with your dad, going to the grocery store with you mom. All little things that you think are so trivial now, you will miss later in life when you don’t have those opportunities anymore,” said North Star theatre director Brenda Broeker.
Broeker said she chose this production as the fall show because of, “The inner story behind it. You leave the show wanting to go hug your parents, your grandparents, or your dog and let them know that you love and appreciate them.”
“It’s sentimental and it’s funny, so it has parts that are really chill and make you think, and feel sad. Then it has times that you’re busting your chops, because it’s so funny, said Campbell.
This show is different than most Fall shows at North Star in many ways. One is the size of the cast. “What was different about this show in particular is that our Fall shows are usually bigger, because that’s when all of our new freshmen are coming in and we want to test them and see what they’ve got, but this was one of our smaller shows so that’s a change,” said Campbell
The North Star Theatre has the largest number of members in any North Star after school club, including both actors and stage technicians.
During Tech Week, all members stay until late at night and make sure everyone is ready for opening night and the two other shows to follow. Ian Zabel (12) said, “My favorite part about theatre, I would say, is all of the cool people that I get to hang out with. We’re all around each other for many hours a day, so it’s cool that we all get along so well.”
“It’s cool to be around other people who share your love for performing. We all want to put our best show on stage and you feel so proud when everything’s said and done,” said Naomi Campbell (12)
Opening night for the production of “Leaving Iowa” is Thursday, Oct. 6, at 7 p.m., followed by shows on Friday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m., and Saturday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m.
