It’s a toasty Tuesday night in July and the Central Library in downtown Kansas City is buzzing with anticipation. A crowd of nearly four hundred has turned out to hear what the artist Thomas Hart Benton has on his mind.
Sounds like the start of a news report from the 1930s or 40s, but the event in question actually occurred in 2009. And similar scenes have taken place over the last few months with the likes of Harry Truman, Amelia Earhart, Langston Hughes, Jesse James and Walt Disney!
These historic figures and others with connections to our town have “come back to life” in the KCPT series Meet the Past with Crosby Kemper III. The show’s format is deceptively simple. Kemper, the library director, sits down for a chat with costumed “re-enactors” in an unscripted, off the cuff exchange that unfolds before a live audience.
As a way to reveal local lore, it’s refreshing and effective.
Sometimes, as when William Allen White reminisces about his daughter’s death, it’s quietly moving. As the host, Kemper’s portfolio is always well-stocked with facts, rumors and anecdotes that keep the conversation lively and the crowd engaged. (And one branch or another of his illustrious family tree is often woven into the tale!)
KCPT’s cameras capture all the verbal sparring and spontaneous exchanges. Eventually, the final, edited program distills the night into a fun and informative half-hour unlike any other on TV.
The pilot for Meet the Past featured Bill Worley as political boss Tom Pendergast and was nominated for a regional Emmy in 2008.
