Danny Diamond, Brian Miller, and Andrew Erskine Wheeler Photo by Rick Spaulding

Hickey was an Irish immigrant whose passage to America was paid for by his older brother Thomas, who had immigrated a couple of years before. Michael joined Thomas in the dense Minnesota woods where both lived and worked in logging camps. They were called shantymen then, not lumberjacks. The play is Michael's account of their time as shantymen, their experiences as volunteers in the Union Army during the Civil War, and the years after the war when Michael resided in the burgeoning cities, Minneapolis on one side of the Mississippi River, St. Anthony Township on the other, separated by those cascading falls. (Note: St. Anthony Township has long-since been absorbed into an expanding Minneapolis.)

Visitors today will scratch their heads at the thought of going over the falls at St. Anthony, as they have long since been tamed by a dam, the rivers flow thoroughly domesticated. But in their natural state, those were wild and formidable falls–a 49-foot drop, and the only true falls to be found in the entire 2,340-mile length of the Mississippi. The force created by the descent of those waters was harnessed to power the mills that made Minneapolis the world's number one grain milling center by the end of the 19th century. Michael's "precipitation" is described in some detail, and seems to have been the defining moment of his life, but there is far more to Whoosh! than that singular event.

Whoosh! opens, and is punctuated throughout, with music from Northern Shores, a duo comprising Danny Diamond and Brian Miller, who compose and play Irish-tinged folk music on an array of old timey instruments. The music is sometimes played as underscoring during Wheeler's narration, and sometimes during a pause in the action with vocals, with Wheeler often joining in the harmony. The music is lovely–indeed, an evening just listening to Northern Shores in performance would be a pleasure in itself–and its presence adds dimension to the recreation of life in the wilderness that was the fledgling state of Minnesota.

Wheeler is a convivial host, narrating the saga as jovial Michael Hickey, but here and there taking on the voice of his more taciturn older brother, Thomas, and other significant figures in his life. The play takes the guise of a wake Michael is holding for Thomas, set in a logging camp on the Rum River in 1881, eighteen years since Thomas died in battle at Gettysburg. Michael directly addresses us, his guests (or fellow mourners), and digs back in his memory, hopscotching back and forth over the years. We learn a tremendous amount about life in the camp, the work of the shantymen, and the transverse of the timber down the river to the mill when spring thaw came. Spoiler alert: it was a grueling life!

Wheeler's script is informative, authentically in character, and entertaining. It does sometimes repeat itself in telling Michael's story, much as a fellow holding on to as many memories as Hickey might do seated across the bar of a saloon–along with other revelations, Michael is candid about his overly cozy relationship with whiskey, rum, and whatever other spirits were on hand. So, while the repetition can become a tad trying, it also feels in keeping with this character who is opening his heart to us, making it hard to raise it as an objection. In the very end (stay for the curtain call), Wheeler shares a personal connection to the story he has put on stage, making the experience all the more gratifying.

Director Allison Vincent has been with this show since its inception several years ago as a one-act entry in the Minnesota Fringe Festival, and has successfully shepherded it through its development into a two-act play. The physical production is far beyond what one saw at the Fringe, with a beautiful set designed by Erik Paulson that evokes a river hallow with the Minnesota north woods.

Brant Miller's fantastic video designs transform the setting into virgin woods, mammoth stacks of lumber afloat on the river, the coarse interior of a logging barrack, Civil War battlefields, the muddy streets of incipient river towns, and the great rush of the falls, with a stunning effect to depict Michael's actual precipitation over the cataract. Richard Graham's sound design and Tony Stoeri's lighting design add further to this beautifully integrated stage design. Mandi Johnson has designed a suitably rough-hewn and itchy-looking costume for our reluctant hero, Michael Hickey.

Watching and listening to Whoosh! reminds me how indebted I feel to men and women who endured the hard life on the frontier that laid the groundwork for the many comforts we enjoy today. Wheeler also acknowledges the Native Americans who were here long before Europeans arrived, citing both their contributions and the losses they endured, though that is not the focus of his play.

I recommend Whoosh! to history buffs, particularly those with an interest in the rugged, early days of white settlers in the American frontier, and anyone who enjoys a solid performance that conveys humor, insight, and affection for a remarkable real-life character.

Whoosh! runs through February 22, 2026, at History Theatre, 30 East 10th Street, Saint Paul MN. For tickets and information, please call 651-292-4323 or visit historytheatre.com.

Playwright: Andrew Erskine Wheeler; Director: Allison Vincent; Music: Northern Shores; Scenic Design: Erik Paulson; Costume Design: Mandi Johnson; Lighting Design: Tony Stoeri; Sound Design: Richard Graham; Properties Design: Kirby Moore; Video Design: Brant Miller; Technical Director: Gunther Gullickson; Stage Manager: Haley Pelissier Walsh; Assistant Stage Manager: Becca Kravchenko.

Cast: Andrew Erskine Wheeler (Michael Hickey and others); Musicians: Danny Diamond, Brian Miller.