A Texas Trilogy

Last updated

A Texas Trilogy (also known as The Bradleyville Trilogy) is a set of three plays written by Preston Jones. The three plays are set in a mythical West Texas town and employ idiosyncratic language and characters that present an evocative depiction of small-town Texas life. [1] The plays in this trilogy are The Oldest Living Graduate , The Last Meeting of the Knights of the White Magnolia , and Lu Ann Hampton Laverty Oberlander .

Contents

Performance history

The trilogy was first performed as separate pieces during the 1973–1974 season at the Down Center Stage in Dallas, Texas. After this, Knights of the White and Lu Ann Hampton were performed together at the 1974 Playmarket showcase. Literary agent Audrey Wood and director Alan Schneider saw the plays and immediately became interested in bringing them to Broadway. Wood became Preston's agent and Schneider eventually directed the Trilogy in Washington, DC, and New York City.

In 1975, the three plays were performed together for the first time on the main stage of the Dallas Theater Center under the title, The Bradleyville Trilogy. That same year, the American Playwright's Theater, which promotes the production of new works in theaters around the country, chose Knights of the White as one of their offerings. In 1976, the renamed A Texas Trilogy played at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, to popular and critical acclaim. [2]

After these initial successes, the trilogy opened on September 23, 1976, at the Broadhurst Theatre in New York City, where it ran until October 29, 1976, for a total of 20 performances. The cast included Henderson Forsythe, Fred Gwynne, Kristin Griffith, William LeMassena, John Marriott, Josh Mostel, Diane Ladd, Graham Beckel, and Everett McGill. Although the show received mixed reviews in New York, A Texas Trilogy won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play. [3]

The first work in the trilogy, The Oldest Living Graduate, was broadcast on television on NBC in 1980, starring Henry Fonda, George Grizzard, Timothy Hutton, Cloris Leachman, and John Lithgow and won several Emmys, including Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for George Grizzard. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betty Buckley</span> American actress and singer (born 1947)

Betty Buckley is an American actress and singer. Buckley is the winner of a Tony Award, and was nominated for an additional Tony Award, two Daytime Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards, and an Olivier Award. In 2012, she was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter MacNicol</span> American actor (born 1954)

Peter MacNicol is an American actor. He received a Theatre World Award for his 1981 Broadway debut in the play Crimes of the Heart. His film roles include Galen in Dragonslayer (1981), Stingo in Sophie's Choice (1982), Janosz Poha in Ghostbusters II (1989), Gary Granger in Addams Family Values (1993), Renfield in Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995), and David Langley in Bean (1997).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paula Vogel</span> American playwright

Paula Vogel is an American playwright. She is known for her provocative explorations of complex social and political issues. Much of her work delves into themes of psychological trauma, abuse, and the complexities of human relationships. She has received the Pulitzer Prize as well as nominations for two Tony Awards. In 2013 she was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame.

Douglas Wright is an American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. Known for his extensive work in the American theatre in both plays and musicals, he has received numerous accolades including the Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat Harrington Jr.</span> American actor (1929–2016)

Daniel Patrick Harrington Jr. was an American Emmy Award–winning stage and television actor, best known for his role as building superintendent Dwayne Schneider on the sitcom One Day at a Time (1975–1984). His father Pat Harrington Sr. was also an actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfred Uhry</span> American playwright and screenwriter (born 1936)

Alfred Fox Uhry is an American playwright and screenwriter. He has received an Academy Award, two Tony Awards and the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for dramatic writing for Driving Miss Daisy. He is a member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T. R. Knight</span> American actor

Theodore Raymond Knight is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Dr. George O'Malley on the ABC medical drama television series Grey's Anatomy, which earned him a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roscoe Lee Browne</span> American actor and director (1922–2007)

Roscoe Lee Browne was an American actor and director. He resisted playing stereotypically black roles, instead performing in several productions with New York City's Shakespeare Festival Theater, Leland Hayward's satirical NBC series That Was the Week That Was, and a poetry performance tour of the United States in addition to his work in television and film. He is perhaps best known for his many guest appearances on TV series from the 1970s and 1980s as well as movies like The Cowboys (1972) with John Wayne.

Daniel Hugh Kelly is an American stage, film and television actor. He is best known for his role on the 1980s ABC TV series Hardcastle and McCormick (1983–1986) as the ex-con Mark "Skid" McCormick, co-starring with actor Brian Keith.

Penelope Dale Milford is an American stage and screen actress. She is best known for her role as Vi Munson in Coming Home (1978) for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She also originated the role of Jenny Anderson in the Broadway musical Shenandoah, for which she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award in 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Emerson</span> American actor

Michael Emerson is an American actor who is best known for his roles as Benjamin Linus on Lost (2006–2010) and as Harold Finch in the CBS series Person of Interest (2011–2016). Other prominent roles include Zep Hindle in the horror film Saw (2004) and as Dr. Leland Townsend in the Paramount+ thriller series Evil (2019–2024).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Grizzard</span> American actor (1928–2007)

George Cooper Grizzard Jr. was an American stage, television, and film actor. He was the recipient of a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Tony Award, among other accolades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regina Taylor</span> American actress (born 1960)

Regina Taylor is an American actress and playwright. She has won several awards throughout her career, including a Golden Globe Award and NAACP Image Award. In July 2017, Taylor was announced as the new Denzel Washington Endowed Chair in Theater at Fordham University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dallas Theater Center</span>

The Dallas Theater Center is a major regional theater in Dallas, Texas, United States. It produces classic, contemporary, and new plays and was the 2017 Tony Award recipient for Best Regional Theater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Urie</span> American actor (born 1980)

Michael Lorenzo Urie is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Marc St. James on the ABC comedy drama television series Ugly Betty. He can be heard as Bobby Kerns in As the Curtain Rises, an original podcast soap opera from the Broadway Podcast Network.

The Oldest Living Graduate is the third and final play in the series A Texas Trilogy by Preston Jones.

The Last Meeting of the Knights of the White Magnolia is the first play in the series A Texas Trilogy by Preston Jones. Set in 1962 it follows a meeting of 'the Knights of the White Magnolia', a Ku Klux Klan-like group, with seven members.

Lu Ann Hampton Laverty Oberlander is the second play in the series A Texas Trilogy by Preston Jones.

Preston Jones was an American playwright best known for A Texas Trilogy, a set of three plays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ron Cephas Jones</span> American actor (1957–2023)

Ron Cephas Jones was an American actor, best known for his role as William Hill in the drama series This Is Us (2016–2022), which earned him a Screen Actors Guild Award; along with four consecutive Primetime Emmy Award nominations, winning twice for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 2018 and 2020.

References

  1. ↑ Preston Jones Papers
  2. ↑ "The Wittliff Collections: Preston Jones" (PDF). Alkek.library.txstate.edu. Retrieved 2012-03-12.[ permanent dead link ]
  3. ↑ Internet Broadway Database: Preston Jones Credits on Broadway
  4. ↑ The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present . Ballantine Books. 2003. p. 1431. ISBN   0-345-45542-8.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.