St. Joseph, Mo. —Missouri Western State University is holding auditions for someone to play the part of former President Harry Truman in an upcoming play.
Western is holding Equity principal auditions and non-Equity auditions in Kansas City Aug. 1 and St. Joseph Aug. 2 for actors to play the part of former President Truman in a new multi-media play titled “Harry and Walter: Missouri’s Native Sons.” The play will premiere on Monday, Nov. 2, 2015 in conjunction with the dedication of the third phase of the Walter Cronkite Memorial on the Missouri Western campus.
“The parallels between Harry Truman and Walter Cronkite fascinate me,” said Dr. Robert Vartabedian, Missouri Western’s president and author of the play. “They were both native Missourians who knew many of the same people; in fact, Cronkite’s father served in Truman’s battalion in World War I. They both rose to national prominence at about the same time, and both were noted for their honesty and integrity. This play gives us a chance to spotlight these famous Missourians while exploring the historic times in which they lived.”
“Harry and Walter” will be the second live multimedia performance associated with the Walter Cronkite Memorial. “Cronkite” premiered last Nov. 4, on what would have been the legendary newsman’s 98th birthday. Noted Kansas City actor Jim Korinke portrays Cronkite as he is interviewed by Larry King one year after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, reflecting not just on that tragedy but on other historic moments he covered during his career. The 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. Korinke will reprise his role as Cronkite for “Harry and Walter.”
Individuals auditioning for the role of Truman should resemble and be able to recreate the voice of the former president. This is a continuing performance opportunity that occurs on an irregular schedule that coincides with special events and group tours of the Walter Cronkite Memorial. The rehearsal schedule is flexible based on the performers’ schedule. Salary will match AEA/SAG-AFTRA scales for rehearsals and performances.
Auditions must be scheduled in advance online at griff.vn/auditions. Auditions will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 1 at Musical Theatre Heritage in Kansas City’s Crown Center, and from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 2 in the Kemper Recital Hall, inside Spratt Hall on the Missouri Western campus in St. Joseph. Actors with questions may contact Dr. Bob Willenbrink, founding dean of the School of Fine Arts at Missouri Western, by phone at 816-271-4515 or email at[email protected].
The premiere of “Harry and Walter” on Nov. 2 will coincide with the dedication of the third phase of the memorial, which includes a replica of the CBS studio from which Cronkite broadcast the CBS Evening News in the 1960s.