MARQUETTE, Mich.—Storyteller Kevin Kling, known for his commentaries on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered, will share his talents with a Marquette-area audience on Friday, Feb. 24. The event begins at 7:30 p.m. in Northern Michigan University’s Forest Roberts Theatre. His appearance is part of the Upper Peninsula Folklife Festival, in conjunction with the Peter White Public Library Storytelling Festival. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students when purchased in advance from NMU EZ Ticket outlets or $15 and $7.50, respectively, at the door. 

With stage shows such as Tales from the Charred Underbelly of the Yule Log, Kling has earned a reputation for delivering hilarious, often tender stories. His autobiographical tales are as enchanting as they are true to life: hopping freight trains, being struck by lightning, performing his banned play in Czechoslovakia, growing up in Minnesota and eating things before knowing what they are.

Kling grew up in Osseo, a Minneapolis suburb, and graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in theater. He found his professional calling when a friend from the now-defunct Brass Tacks Theatre asked him to perform his stories. Since then, Kling has been awarded numerous arts grants and fellowships. He has been recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts, McKnight Foundation, Minnesota State Arts Board, Bush Foundation and Jerome Foundation, among others.  

Kling continues to write plays and stories. He has been invited to perform at the acclaimed National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tenn., for several years and travels around the globe for other festivals and residencies. He has released a number of compact disc collections of his stories and published two books, The Dog Says How and Holiday Inn.