Kevin Kling Selected Works

Summer means sleepaway camps, days with friends by the pool, and late nights gazing at the stars. For nine-year-old Maurice Abernathy Anderson, a significant loss and one little lie means his summer just got more complicated. Written and performed by nationally acclaimed storyteller, Kevin Kling, and featuring rousing sing-a-longs, The Best Summer Ever joyfully explores the way childhood is measured by sights, sounds, feelings, and love.

This one man tour-de-force originally starred the author playing all eight of the people on a Minneapolis bus. Structured as a series of monologues in which events occur simultaneously, this hilarious and decidedly different work had them rolling in the isles at Actors Theatre of Louisville's famed Humana Festival, where it won the Heidemann Award. Characters include the bus driver, an odd lady, a religious proselytizer, a drunk with a 12-pack over his head, a businessman who is not Dave no matter how fervently the drunk insists he is, and a mysterious intruder.

In an ice fishing house on a lake in northern Minnesota, Ron, an ice fisherman extraordinaire, struggles to catch “the big one,” only “the big one” doesn'’t just mean the biggest fish in the lake. A funny, vibrant exploration of the struggle to connect in a world of blizzards, frozen minnows, memories and miracles. A glimpse of the secret inner world of that mystical icon, the ice fisherman.

Picking up where the classic tale left off, the story joins Dorothy on a journey with her dearest friends from Oz. This winsome production reunites the trilogy of Brains, Heart and Courage with theatrics, music, and silent-era Oz film footage. Commissioned by Minnesota Public Radio for the Fitzgerald Theater. Listen to the radio broadcast of the show here.

A boy raised by raccoons, a small-time hustler and a genuine Angel of the Lord are just a few of the characters who inhabit this parable. Bob, the Raccoon Boy, is rescued from the raccoons who raised him and taught what it means to be human.

The sometimes charming, sometimes twisted story of a young man's education in the school of life, which explores the various ways in which we learn—by instinct, by intellect, by role model, by experience.

Of Mirth and Mischief is a story that takes place during Christmas in the 1960s when a four-year-old boy has an extended hospital stay. He moves between wounds and wellness, encountering a world of whimsical tales that come alive with winter fairies and magical elves ruling the dusk and dawn. The audience experiences holiday collisions of mirth and mischief through the boy's eyes as he befriends other hospitalized children. One by one, the doctors, nurses, and other children take on the personas of mythical beings until the boy finds his place by having a foot in two worlds, his best way to live life. Listen to and download music from the show here.

Renowned storyteller Kevin Kling, along with singer/songwriter Mason Jennings, have created a unique program that looks at life Back Home. The beautiful and funny program examines the meaning of home, ranging from ancient Greece to a log cabin. These iconic Minnesota artists have created works that embrace the Midwest and the idea of home with all the love and angst that come with family and close friends. Watch a recording of the show here.

Gulliver Unravels weaves stories from Kling'’s personal life and songs by Chastity Brown with the outrageous adventures in the Jonathan Swift classic, Gulliver’'s Travels. The tale begins in a northern Minnesota bar where Chastity Brown is playing and Kling meets up with a man, Gulliver, whose witty conversation strangely resembles the great escapades from the famous 18th century Swift novel. A wild ride through strange lands, crazy adventures, and excellent music, Gulliver Unravels is a show that is sure to not only entertain audiences of all ages, but inspire them as well. Watch a recording of the show here.

One of Kling's most highly praised one-man shows, it has also been recorded as a spoken-word CD.