The live multimedia performance “Harry & Walter: Missouri’s Native Sons,” featuring actors portraying President Harry Truman and legendary newsman Walter Cronkite, will be performed at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16 in the Kemper Recital Hall, adjacent to the Walter Cronkite Memorial inside Spratt Hall on the campus of Missouri Western State University. The play is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. Call 816-271-4100 to reserve a seat.
“President Harry Truman and Walter Cronkite had some noteworthy parallels in their storied careers,” said Dr. Robert Vartabedian, Missouri Western’s president, who wrote and directed the play. “Among other things, both were native Missourians, had long devoted marital relationships, rose to prominence during World War II and directly and indirectly fought for civil rights. Perhaps their most significant common characteristic was their sense of integrity.”
Ken Remmert portrays Harry Truman – Copyright Jeni Swope 2015
Video, still photographs and music combine with live performances to recreate many of the key events in the lives of Truman and Cronkite. Dr. Vartabedian used more than two dozen sources in conceiving and writing the show. A full bibliography can be found at griff.vn/HWSources. The production is supported in part by grants from The City of St. Joseph, Buchanan County, and the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.
The role of Harry Truman is played by Ken Remmert. Remmert is fortunate to stay busy as a professional Equity actor and musician in Kansas City. He has been on stage at Starlight Theater, Musical Theater Heritage, Quality Hill Playhouse, the American Heartland Theater, the Chestnut Fine Arts Center and Western Playhouse. He also serves as director of worship arts at North Cross United Methodist Church in Kansas City.
Jim Korinke portrays Walter Cronkite – Copyright Jeni Swope 2015
Jim Korinke portrays Walter Cronkite. Korinke has been a professional actor for 42 years and a proud member of The Equity Actors Association for 39 years. He has performed in more than 120 stage productions. He has also appeared in some two dozen feature films and hundreds of commercials for clients like the U.S. Army, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Hy-Vee and Honda, and was the voice of Walmart for four years.
“Harry & Walter” will be the second live multimedia performance associated with the Walter Cronkite Memorial. “Cronkite” premiered Nov. 4, 2014, on what would have been the legendary newsman’s 98th birthday. That show has been warmly received by audiences at its public performances, and was entered in the 2015 Pulitzer Prize competition by several scholars and journalists (including Cronkite’s son, Walter Cronkite III) who believed the show deserved broader recognition. Dr. Vartabedian conceived “Harry & Walter” as a prequel to “Cronkite.”
Like the earlier show, “Harry & Walter” will be performed periodically for the general public as well as by special arrangement for large groups. For more information on the performance schedule, call the Western Institute at 816-271-4100.
The Walter Cronkite Memorial was dedicated on Nov. 4, 2013, as a fitting tribute to the St. Joseph native who anchored the CBS Evening News from 1962 to 1981. The memorial has attracted nearly 5,000 visitors from 41 states and five foreign countries. The 5,000 square-foot memorial in the atrium of Spratt Hall includes images, videos and memorabilia of Cronkite’s life and the many events he covered as a journalist. It now includes a replica of the CBS newsroom from which Cronkite broadcast the CBS Evening News in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Visitors to the newsroom are able to sit behind a replica of Cronkite’s famous news desk and have their picture taken.
Missouri Western State University is a comprehensive regional university providing a blend of traditional liberal arts and professional degree programs. The university offers student-centered, high quality instruction that focuses on experience-based learning, community service, and state-of-the-art technology. Missouri Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit www.missouriwestern.edu.