St. Paul history and the fantastical world of King Boreas blend in the History Theatre’s new holiday show, “Rollicking! A Winter Carnival Musical.”

The original musical tells the story of St. Paul’s first Black municipal architect and the man behind the Highland Park Water Tower, Clarence “Cap” Wigington and his wife, Viola. The pair enter the magical legend behind the St. Paul Winter Carnival, for which Wigington was tasked with designing the celebration’s ice palaces.

The carnival originally opened in 1886, and the Legend of Boreas Rex was written in 1937 by St. Paul businessman Frank Madden, to explain the magic of the event. It’s the story of King Boreas, Queen Aurora and the forces of winter and spring, as they battle for the season and the people of St. Paul.

Theirs is the fantast

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