Meeting of Minds is a television series, created by Steve Allen, which aired on PBS from 1977 to 1981.
The show featured guests (played by actors) who played significant roles in world history. Guests would interact with each other and host Steve Allen, discussing philosophy, religion, history, science, and many other topics.
As nearly as was possible, the actual words of the historical figures were used. The show was fully scripted (yet the scripts were carefully crafted to give the appearance of spontaneous discussion among historic figures. Guests included: Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, Cleopatra, Marie Antoinette, Florence Nightingale, Thomas Paine, Francis Bacon, Thomas Jefferson, Voltaire, Karl Marx and Charles Darwin.
Typically, each episode would be split into two parts, broadcast separately, with most or all of the guests introduced over the course of the first part, and the discussions continuing into the second part.
Actors made multiple appearances as different guests, over the course of the series; this was particularly true of Allen's wife, Jayne Meadows. There was also one major departure from the usual format, in which William Shakespeare was joined by several characters from his plays, with Meadows playing the role of the "dark lady" of his sonnets.
The show won many awards including an Emmy Award and a Peabody Award.
The scripts are available for public performance. Because of their educational nature, Allen did not attach a royalty to such performances.
Upcoming Meeting of Minds Show
Put Cleopatra, Teddy Roosevelt, Thomas Paine, and Father Thomas Aquinas in a room together and what do you get? Steve Allen's Meeting of Minds. History comes to life in re-creations of Steve Allen’s award winning theatre. Meeting of Minds encourages the audience, who may be historically illiterate, to become more familiar with the great thinkers and doers of the past and to further research and study these characters of history. The show aired on PBS from 1977 to 1981. It was honored with many awards including the Peabody Award, one national Emmy, three national Emmy nominations, a TV Critics Circle Award, the Encyclopædia Britannica Award and the Film Advisory Board Award.
The format of the current theatrical performance is a talk show with Steve Allen (now played by an actor) facilitating the discussion/debate between historical figures. In the scripts he wrote he envisioned how historical figures would interact. Allen (now deceased) was a witty renaissance man, composer, writer and dramatist. He felt that “putting the greatest figures of all time together and showing them interacting was an entertaining way not only to have a better understanding of what is going on in the world today, but also to be in a better position to make decisions for the future.”
The promoters of Meeting of Minds are searching for a venue/location to bring these great historical figures (played by seasoned actors) to the Lehigh Valley. Dr. James (Doc) Ogden, professor at Kutztown University is assisting with the marketing of the program in the East Coast. According to Doc, “Dan Lauria [famous for his role as the father in The Wonder Years] is a good friend of mine. He approached me with the idea of bringing the theatre production to the East Coast. After seeing the show in California, I was hooked and excited to be involved!” The show is running at The Steve Allen Theater in Los Angeles on a regular basis, but Lauria wanted to bring the show to the East Coast and introduce it to the university setting. According to Lauria, “I have a passion for history and Meeting of Minds is a way to make learning fun and encourage intellectual discourse.”
The first few universities on the West coast that have run the show have had sold out performances. One university held the performance as a fund raising event for scholarships. The other university ran the event as a capital campaign to build a new theatre. The cast varies by performance and depends on availability. According to Ogden, “With the proximity to New York, the production is posed to get some big name actors to play the parts”
Actors that have played the parts in the recent past include such notables as:
Gary Cole (Entourage, Office Space, The West Wing) James Handy (NYPD Blue, Unbreakable, Jumanji, West Wing) Ian Buchanan (Bold and the Beautiful, General Hospital, Panic Room) Ernie Hudson (Ghost Busters, Desperate Housewives) France Nuyen (The Joy Luck Club, Santa Barbara) Penny Peyser (7th heaven, Knots Landing, All the President’s Men) Joe Mantegna (Criminal Minds, Starter Wife, Joan of Arcadia) Richard Gilliland (Dexter, 24, CSI) Wendie Malick (Just Shoot Me, Frasier, Confessions of a Shopaholic) Charles Shaunassey (The Nanny, Madmen) Dan Lauria (Wonder Years, The Spirit, Independence Day, JAG) Meeghan Holaway (Bold and the Beautiful, The Spirit) Ray Abruzzo (The Sopranos, Night Court, Dynasty)