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PHOTO COPYRIGHT CHRIS BENNION, 2008

TRUTH IN SIMPLICITY. Kevin Kling and Simone Perrin star in the world premiere of “How? How? Why? Why? Why?” through April 19 on the Leo K. stage of the Seattle Rep.

Seattle Rep’s ‘How? How? Why? Why? Why?’ offers simple rules to live by

“Life is the difference between the trip you planned and the trip you take.”

By Peg Doman

I recently saw Robert Fulghum’s “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” at Gig Harbor’s Encore Theatre and it was the best production I’ve ever seen there. The premise is that the real truths you should use to govern your life are simple and eternal: Don’t hit. Wash your hands after using the toilet. Flush. Take turns. Hold hands when you go out. It’s the K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid) principle but eternally true.

I was reminded of these simple truths while watching the Seattle Rep production of “How? How? Why? Why? Why?” written and performed by Kevin Kling, with accordion, guitar, singing and interaction by Simone Perrin.

NPR commentator Kling is a storyteller. He starts out with a premise, seems to ramble, things get crossed out and crossed over and then he comes back to the main story line and wraps it up. This production is based on Kling’s book “The Dog Says How.” Kling had a catastrophic motorcycle accident a few years ago and lost the use of his right arm, and he wears a brace on his left arm due to a birth defect. He came close to dying and the subtitle of this production is, “Life is the Difference Between the Trip You Planned and the Trip You Take.” He’s had to adapt to using voice recognition software and when he first had it, and it was learning the nuances of his voice, his dog and cat got into a fight behind him. The computer started typing “how, how, why, why, why.” The dog is “how” and the cat is “why.”

Speaking of rambling, the connection between Fulghum and Kling is that they both have simple rules to live by. Kling’s rules are only three: 1. Be good to your neighbors; you don’t know when you’ll need them. 2. If you don’t know what you’re doing when you’re dancing, cinch ‘em in. A few years after his friend Marty’s grosspapa died, he was at a community dance with his grandmother. He asked her to dance and didn’t know if he was doing a good job dancing so he remembered what his grosspapa said, “If you don’t know what you’re doing when you dance, cinch ‘em in. Hold them tight.” 3. Know who to peck. Kling’s grandmother had a favorite rooster that loved to peck him and his brother Steve. They’d come crying to Grandma and say the rooster attacked them. She said, “Don’t tease the rooster.” One day the rooster had the audacity to peck at their sister, Grandma’s favorite. Grandma said, “That’s enough,” and they had rooster for dinner that night, tough chicken, but chicken. Hence, know who to peck.

The play is filled with advice for Kling. His barbequing Uncle John said, “There are three things I don’t wash and my grill is one of them.” (What are the other two?) His dad says, “It’s not rocket surgery for crying outside!”

The set is very simple and I can’t find any notation in the program about who the scenic designer is. Perhaps it’s just stuff they had in storage at Seattle Rep. The set looks like a living room and kitchen. The living room has a big old armchair with a lamp behind it and a small table. The kitchen table and chairs are like what my childhood home had: chrome-legged, grey Formica-topped table with two yellow vinyl chrome-legged chairs. At the back of the stage there’s a clothesline with sheets and a guitar on a stand.

As the lights come up, we see Kling and Perrin onstage. She’s sitting on one of the kitchen chairs, hugging a big accordion. As Kling finishes a story, she sings a song, accompanying herself. She starts with Hank Williams, Sr.’s, “I’ve Got the Long Gone Lonesome Blues,” Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots are Made for Walking” and then to Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.”

“How? How? Why? Why? Why?” is great fun. It runs until April 19 and if you get a group of 10 or more, you can get a discount on the tickets. For tickets and information, call (877) 900-9285 or go online at www.seattlerep.org.

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