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Central Standard

'Kansas City Swing'

Kansas City's role in the integration of baseball is a popular subject these days. The recent release of 42, the movie about Jackie Robinson's integration into Major League Baseball premiered in Kansas City, home of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, this month. UMKC Theatre is also tackling the subject with the debut of its play Kansas City Swing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=zyS-mw8J3Ys

On this Central Standard, we talk with playwright Ricardo Khan, actor Janae Mitchell, and Dr. Raymond Doswell, the curator of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Our guests provide a historical context to the play and explain why this moment in the history of baseball is important to reproduce theatrically.

BobbyFINAL.mp3
Saxophonist Bobby Watson talks about composing the music for "Kansas City Swing" and making his acting debut as The Jazz Man.

UMKC Theatre presents Kansas City Swing, April 19 - 28, 2013, Helen F. Spencer Theatre, Olson PAC, 4949 Cherry, Kansas City, Mo. on the UMKC campus.

Matthew Long-Middleton has been a talk-show producer, community producer, Media Training Manager and now the Community Engagement Manager at KCUR. You can reach him at Matthew@kcur.org, or on Twitter @MLMIndustries.