A St. Paul Story from 2003

featuring Lynn Peterson, Becky Schlegel, and Mason Jennings

The Penguin Joke

Last week, we revisited one of the Joke Shows from A Prairie Home Companion and also saluted the 25th anniversary of the release of the very first edition of the Pretty Good Joke Book, which gathers together all the jokes and arranges them by category for easy sharing plus a lot of laughs. The classic Joke Show of course featured the penguin joke, performed on a few occasions, per usual, along with a drawn-out full-cast sketch dedicated to the joke. This joke has taken on a lore of its own since it’s our hosts favorite, but it never quite seems to get the response he wishes from the live audience. And so it crops up again and again. Well, the joke became such a topic that in 2014 we created a shirt to pay homage, and we’ve brought it back for a limited time. It features the joke on the front and the Prairie Home logo on the back between the shoulder blades. Get the shirt.

Listen to the February 8, 2003, show

This week, we revisit a Valentine’s Day show from the Fitzgerald Theater, with Mason Jennings and Becky Schlegel. Peter Ostroushko and Dan Newton join the Shoe Band, and Lynn Peterson joins Garrison for a couple of love song duets. Plus, comedian Isaac Witty. Listen to the show.

MASON JENNINGS was born in Pittsburgh to a music-loving family. He began writing and performing songs at the age of thirteen and dropped out of school three years later to pursue his passion on a full-time basis. He then moved to Minneapolis, where he caught the eye, or rather, ear, of a major music label. Jennings, however, wasn't interested in going corporate, opting instead to record his self-titled debut in his living room — playing all of the instruments himself. Band members and a large local following came soon after, as did numerous awards, including the 2000 Minnesota Music Award for best songwriter. Hailed by music critics as both a "remarkably old soul" and a "voice of a generation," Jennings has written hundreds of songs and says that he is still trying to write "the perfect love song." He continues to record and perform today.

BECKY SCHLEGEL grew up in Kimball, South Dakota, playing piano and listening to Patsy Cline, to whom she has been compared. During college, she spent her summers playing in a Mountain Music Show in Custer, South Dakota. After a friend there gave her three albums by Reno and Smiley, she became addicted to bluegrass music. Schlegel moved to Minnesota in 1994, sold her piano, and forced herself to become a better guitar player. Now this award-winning songwriter combines classic country, contemporary folk, and bluegrass influences to craft a sound that is uniquely her own.

Singer-songwriter-science geek LYNN PETERSON is a native Minnesotan whose career took her to New York City, where she spent eight years as a performer, composer, and studio vocalist, before returning to the Twin Cities. And the science geek part? She studied chemistry as an undergrad and continued graduate work focused on chemistry and sustainability.

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Wilmington, North Carolina; Evans, Georgia; Huntsville, Alabama — then on to a swing through Florida, including a stop in the Villages. Garrison is on the move with a newly reworked solo show featuring over 90 minutes of stories, songs, poetry, and a sing-along. Join him for an entertaining evening! (Also find information on Garrison’s return to Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts, the only scheduled A Prairie Home Companion show for 2025 — thus far.)

TICKET INFORMATION for ALL upcoming shows

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