By Anne Hershewe

news@joplinglobe.com

Thomas Edison appears tonight at Memorial Hall. Margaret Mitchell and Walt Disney will be in Joplin on Friday and Saturday.

The historical figures — actually chautauqua performers — are in town to bring the past to life.

Chautauqua is a five-day event being staged this week that is full of performances and presentations by scholars and actors who impersonate famous Americans. The event is sponsored by the Missouri Humanities Council.

Hank Fincken, who portrays Thomas Edison, spoke Wednesday to an audience at Missouri Southern State University about the challenges an actor faces in portraying a real person. Fincken also re-creates other historical figures, including Christopher Columbus and Henry Ford.

“Who we are is always when we are and where we are,” he said. “It’s hard to know the truth about the past.”

Fincken, an author and actor from Indiana, said people romanticize historical figures too much, and they sometimes want positive messages rather than the truth. He recounted several instances in which audience members became upset because he was trying to be accurate and didn’t deliver the messages they wanted to hear.

“We love the myths,” he said. “It’s easy to focus too much on the good or too much on the bad. History is complex and much more than just facts. It’s fun to try to make sense of it.”

On Friday and Saturday, Debra Conner will portray Margaret Mitchell, author of “Gone with the Wind,” and William Worley will portray Walt Disney.

Cameo Gerdes, director of sales for the Joplin Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the turnout for the chautauqua this year has been strong. The theme for this year’s event is “That’s Entertainment.”

“The evening shows are going to be great,” she said. Every performance is followed by a question-and-answer session, with the actor in character.