‘Blended Harmony: The Kim Loo Sisters’ points spotlight on overlooked story

Two sets of sisters, both raised in Minneapolis in the early 20th century. Each family forms a swing-centered nightclub act full of tight harmonies and lavish choreography. Both sets of siblings end up in Hollywood movies and entertaining American troops during World War II.

One group was the Andrews Sisters, the other the Kim Loo Sisters. And it says something that History Theatre — which specializes in spinning stories about Minnesota history — has created two musicals about the Andrews Sisters and none about the Kim Loo Sisters.

Until now. The story of this quite popular but largely forgotten sister act from Minneapolis is at last being told in a co-production from History Theatre and Theater Mu called “Blended Harmony: The Kim Loo Sisters.” With a book and lyrics by Jessica Huang and a swinging score by Jacinth Greywoode, it’s a production with a lot of promise and much to recommend it.

But Huang seems so intent on cutting into the historical deficit of information about the Kim Loo Sisters that she tells us a lot more than we need to know.

The result is a two-hour-and-45-minute musical that features 24 songs, but would probably be more entertaining if it were trimmed down to two hours and 14 songs. By show’s end, I felt that I didn’t know enough about half of this sister act, but way more than I needed to about sometime collaborator Ann Miller, their mother, the producer of their shows, the husband of one and a Chinese general.

Audrey Parker, from left, Audrey Mojica, Morgan Kempton and Suzie Juul in the History Theatre’s world premiere production of “Blended Harmony: The Kim Loo Sisters,” a musical by Jacinth Graywoode and Jessica Huang about four sisters from Minnesota who became a very popular nightclub act in the first half of the 20th century before anti-Asian sentiment during World War II sabotaged their career. Co-produced with Theater Mu, the show runs through May 26, 2024 at the History Theatre in St. Paul. (Rich Ryan / History Theatre)

In short, it’s an overstuffed musical that takes the audience off on unnecessary tangents. As the powers-that-be at Theater Mu and History Theatre discussed what to leave in and what to take out, it seems the answer was invariably, “Leave it in.”

Perhaps “Blended Harmony” would be a stronger show if the focus remained more squarely on the sister act at its center. The musical is most interesting when exploring their relationships with one another and how they were shaped by their Minneapolis upbringing, their father a Chinese-American chef at downtown Minneapolis restaurant Nankin and their Polish-American mother escaping life as a laundress to become the sister act’s crafty, deal-cutting (and dress-making) manager.

Alas, the story veers off into that long-distance marriage and how it got started, negotiating contracts, Mom’s upbringing in Poland, life on a Chinese military base, and whatever is on Ann Miller’s mind. While Audrey Parker does some impressive dancing as that great Hollywood tapper, her soliloquies do nothing to drive the story forward.

That said, there’s a whole lot of talent onstage. Among the sisters, the conflicted Jenee is the one we get to know best, and Kelsey Angel Baehrens makes her invariably intriguing, while Audrey Mojica is magnetic as the flirtatious youngest sister, Bubbles. Meanwhile, Ann Michels makes the most of her turn as their enterprising mother, while J.C. Cutler is an eminently convincing head honcho of their musical revues.

Kudos are also due choreographer Rush Benson, the costumes of Mathew J. LeFebvre and the inventive use of projections by Mina Kinukawa and Miko Simmons. Here’s hoping that this story that richly deserves to be told re-emerges in a more svelte rendition.

Rob Hubbard can be reached at wordhub@yahoo.com.