“Leaving Iowa,” the captivating story about nostalgia and family, will be presented by North Polk High School Students as the annual play.

The play follows the Browning family led by Don Browning, the father, in a trip to his childhood state of Iowa in search for the perfect resting place for his own fathers ashes as requested. Throughout the play, the audience is taken through the present day road trip taken by the family, as well as flashbacks and memories of Don’s past, as well as the reconciliation of his present self past. 

Senior Jack Van deKrol will portray Don’s future/older self while fellow senior Caden McCoy will be playing Don’s past/younger self. 

Van deKrol states that though the environment has changed due to new directors and the short amount of time in preparation, the cast has been working hard and handled the changes well.

Furthermore, assistant director Margaret Aartila commended the students for their hard-work and commitment to the play, as well as expressed her positive experience working with the school for the first time.

“The students in this show have been amazing, they have really shown how dedicated they are and how much they respect the fine arts department by coming in prepared,” expressed Aartila.

The play will be held on both Saturday, May 6 from 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. as well as Sunday, May 7 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m and tickets will be available at the door or online.

Van deKrol conveyed that the cast and the play itself was a good closing to this high school career. When asked what the audience can most look forward to in the performance Van deKrol stated the audience would be left “feeling all sorts of emotions, the happy, the sad, the funny, it’s a mix of it all.”