Please note: shows are currently suspended and unavailable to book.
Missouri Western State University’s Walter Cronkite Memorial is a tribute to St. Joseph’s beloved native son and one of the most important and trusted voices in our country’s history. The memorial is open to the public free of charge as a public service and as a beacon to the journalistic integrity that was the hallmark of Mr. Cronkite.
Three plays have been created to further celebrate Walter Cronkite and two major historical figures.
- The drama “Cronkite” combines a live performance with video, still photographs and music to create an emotional remembrance of events that changed our country forever, as reflected on by Walter Cronkite during a 2002 interview with Larry King.
- “Harry & Walter: Missouri’s Native Sons” combines a live performance with video, still photographs and music to reflect on many of the key events and parallel paths in the lives President Truman and Walter Cronkite.
- “King & Cronkite” is based on Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech. A live multimedia performance features the words of civil rights leader MLK, Jr. and the reflections of Cronkite on the civil rights movement.
To ensure high quality performances, the three Walter Cronkite Memorial plays employ Actors’ Equity Association (AEA) actors and are Equity performances under the MWSU Western Playhouse agreement with AEA.
AEA is the union for professional stage actors. AEA sets minimum salaries for actors in Equity performances based on factors including the type of theatre and the size of the audience. Whether the Cronkite plays are performed live or are shown as video performances, the actors must be paid according to an AEA contract.
Each time a tour group is shown a video of a Cronkite play, the AEA actors are paid and pension and health care payments are also paid to AEA on behalf of the actors.
Below is a chart detailing the cost to tour groups of various sizes to view Walter Cronkite Memorial plays.
One Performance | Two Performances | Three Performances | |||||
Tour Size | Cronkite | Harry & Walter | King & Cronkite | C / H&W | C / K&C | H&W / K&C | All Three Plays |
Up to 20 | $100.00 | $100.00 | $100.00 | $175.00 | $175.00 | $225.00 | $325.00 |
21-30 | $100.00 | $100.00 | $100.00 | $175.00 | $175.00 | $275.00 | $325.00 |
31-50 | $150.00 | $150.00 | $150.00 | $250.00 | $250.00 | $325.00 | $425.00 |
51-70 | $200.00 | $200.00 | $200.00 | $300.00 | $300.00 | $400.00 | $525.00 |
71+ | $250.00 | $250.00 | $250.00 | $350.00 | $350.00 | $475.00 | $625.00 |