Breaking Hearts and Takin Names - Seattle Rep

Kevin Kling and Simone Perrin
Photo: Chris Bennion

April 13 - May 10

Once in the proverbial blue moon, do you realise you're going to enjoy a show within the first three minutes. Kevin Kling's welcome return to the Seattle Rep, "Breakin Hearts and Takin Names", is that show.

Everything is just so adorable. The backdrop appears to be a redneck or country bar which we soon find out is somewhere in Minnesota. It is culturally soothing and brilliantly succesful at including the auidence from the very start. Away to our left stands something even more adorable, Simone Perrin. The two united successfully before at the Rep for Kling's "How? How? Why? Why? Why? and their growing army of fans will not be disappointed with this show.

"You Need to feel Safe with a Storyteller"

Kevin's narrative style is incredibly unannoying. He believes, "You need to feel safe with a storyteller. You develop a trust in the room and then you can take people to places that are either difficult or frightening or hilarious or challenging."

He achieves this perfectly and the audience is with him almost instantly. Raising his voice loud enough to reach the far ends of the smaller Leo K Wright theater, but speaking softly enough that the front rows could believe they were swapping tales with a fellow passenger in a boxcar, Kevin spins yarns both funny and didactic. Interspersed is Simone's incredibly versatile voice. Staring with Edith Piaf's classis, "Je ne regrette rien", she takes us through a musical journey of the globe. Some songs, like "Crow" are loosely attached to Kling's monologue, others like "Miss the Mississippi and You" and "Canada Goose" conjure up images of places but one number stood out above all. In singing "Vampire", Simone adopts a central European accent and assumes the role of brokenhearted lover. The song really is hilarious and delivered comedically to perfection. The show ends with her performance of the Johnny Cash classic "Folsom Prison Blues". Don't ask me why. Don't ask me why it's cute. It just is.

There is sadness in Kling's life but he addresses it in a postitive but quirky way. People who are already fans of his will not be disappointed and he even gives us a free Minnesotan lesson, convincing a Seattle audience to mutter the immortal phrase "I ain't gonna pay no dollar for a corn muffin that's half dough."

It is quite hard to describe why Simone's 'Edith Piaf crossed with European Burlesque' accordion numbers fit perfectly inside Kevin's homespun tales of his youth in Minnesota, but they do. But please don't take my word for it. This is the sweetest little show and a fitting end to a wonderful season at the Rep.