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Enter Wellstone!--the latest in a long line of proud productions from the History Theatre in downtown St. Paul. As much as I liked Paul Wellstone, I couldn’t help thinking this play would showcase little green buses dancing in tutus or something else akin to Mel Brook’s Springtime for Hitler (because of the exclamation point).

Sure enough, this play, written by Mark Rosenwinkel and directed by Steve Barberio started out just as erratic and high-strung as I thought it would. Wellstone (Kris Nelson) is originally shown screaming his lungs out at an imaginary constituency. The first few scenes are randomly fragmented to the point of annoyance. However, as the characters settle in and the back story is told, Wellstone! takes on an air of consequence rarely seen in other theatrical performances.

Paul Wellstone was an excitable fellow, and Nelson plays him well. Nelson, a veteran of the Guthrie Theater, occasionally runs up and down the aisles in attempts to rouse make-believe supporters at make-believe rallies. That actor-audience intimacy underscores what kind of activist-oriented play this is. Even those that didn’t support Wellstone beforehand would have a hard time not falling in love with Nelson’s portrayal.

Wellstone was never a champion of the privileged, and the play’s minimalist attitudes follow right in line. The set never changes, and really only features a stray table and chair.

There are two supporting actors; both play many different characters. My only gripe was that the male supporting actor, Philip Callen, sometimes failed to make the necessary transition when shuttling himself from accent to accent.

By the end of the play, we see Wellstone as the type of little guy we always want to root for. He eschewed corporate campaign finance and organized small-town farmers struggling with the monster of eminent domain. On my way out of the theater, I learned that the exclamation point was a trademark of Wellstone’s campaign. At that point, it all started to make sense: “low-budget thriller trying to appeal to a greater audience.” Honorably, that’s Wellstone--man and play--encapsulated.

Wellstone! runs through Nov. 5 at the History Theatre in St. Paul. Tickets are available at historytheatre.com and range from $25-32.