If you're too busy or too broke to leave town this summer, the A.D. Players have the show for you. Leaving Iowa is a comedic homage to the classic family road trip. Written by Tim Clue and Spike Manton, the story follows a middle-aged writer named Don Browning as he travels to Iowa to shepherd his father's ashes back to the family home. Once he gets there, he finds that Grandma's homestead is now a grocery store so Don does the next best thing: He heads out across the flatlands looking for a good place to leave what's left of dear old dad. The story travels across space and time as Don remembers his father and all those family road trips they took back when Don was a child. Both Clue and Manton are well known for writing stand-up comedy, and while there is some humor in Leaving Iowa, it isn't all silliness. The Chicago Sun-Times said the play has "a surprisingly deep soul." 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Through August 29. 2710 West Alabama. For information, call 713-526-2721 or visit www.adplayers.org. $15 to $36.
Fridays, Saturdays. Starts: July 9. Continues through Aug. 29, 2010