With Twin Cities storyteller Kevin Kling at the center, History Theatre's latest show is not merely a play, but a playful take on the history of Minneapolis/St. Paul and Kling's life in Minnesota, spun into a batch of affectionately humorous stories. There are plenty of opportunities for laughter and recognition in the sometimes autobiographical bits of "A Tale of Twin Cities."
Although little new information is dredged up in the historical musings, Kling gives his own amusing slant on familiar material, ranging from ruminations on Minnesota's Native Americans, Pig's Eye Parrant, early settlers and the '20s gangsters who hung out in St. Paul, to the State Fair, St. Paul's winter carnival, and Kirby Puckett and the Twins. Civil War tales of a young hero from each city are intriguing, lesser-known tidbits pulled from the past.
Simone Perrin punctuates the many tales with her complementary songs that range in feel from folk to French café to cabaret style — all with her own simple accordion or banjo accompaniment. Sometime Kling adds tonal percussion with rhythmic notes pumped out of a tuba.
Kling says Minneapolis and St. Paul are not really twins, but more like siblings, who can be very different even though they grew up together. There are jabs at the competitive nature of the cities with East and West dispositions.
But the most entertaining riffs are the autobiographical ones that Kling is famous for.
He recounts tales of how stories themselves become twisted by what people hear. A joke that makes adults laugh, "A three-legged dog walks into a bar and says, 'I'm looking for the man who shot my Pa(w)' " becomes "A three-legged dog walks into a bar and say, 'I'm looking for the man who shot my Dad,' " in the mouths of misunderstanding kids who laugh uproariously over a joke that no longer makes sense.
Kling's observations of human foibles are not judgmental but simply couched in a way that helps the humor leap out.
Musings on what makes Minnesotans of all ethnic backgrounds feel like one united family include mentions of the volatile weather and the tragic fall of the I-35W bridge.
Director Suzy Messerole keeps the feel casual and relaxed, letting Kling do his stuff — deliberately setting the show in a typical Twin Cities bar that makes it feel as if we're just hanging out, listening to our friend Kevin tell stories.
This is the kind of theater that gives audiences a warm glow but doesn't make them work too hard. "It's not rocket surgery," as one of Kling's relatives was prone to say — just a charming way to spend a cold Minnesota evening.
What: "A Tale of Twin Cities"
Where: History Theatre; 30 East 10th St., St. Paul
When: Through April 3
Tickets: $28-32; student/senior discounts
Information: 651-292-4323; www.historytheatre.com
Capsule: Affectionately funny stories in and about the sibling cities