A Texas Trilogy is an award-winning set of three plays written by Preston Jones

Preston Jones

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

. 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. The plays in this trilogy are The Oldest Living Graduate

The Oldest Living Graduate (play)

The Oldest Living Graduate is the third and final play in the series A Texas Trilogy by Preston Jones.-History:The original name of "A Texas Trilogy" was The Bradleyville Trilogy...

, The Last Meeting of the Knights of the White Magnolia

The Last Meeting of the Knights of the White Magnolia (play)

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....

, and Lu Ann Hampton Laverty Oberlander

Lu Ann Hampton Laverty Oberlander (play)

Lu Ann Hampton Laverty Oberlander is the second play in the series A Texas Trilogy by Preston Jones.- History :The original name of "A Texas Trilogy" was The Bradleyville Trilogy. The trilogy was first performed in its entirety at the Dallas Theater Center in 1975....

.

Performance History

The trilogy was first performed as separate individual pieces during the 1973-1974 season at the Down Center Stage in Dallas, TX. 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

Alan Schneider

Alan Schneider was an American theatre director and mentor responsible for more than 100 theatre productions. In 1984 he was honored with a Drama Desk Special Award for serving a wide range of playwrights...

 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, D. C. 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

Dallas Theater Center

The Dallas Theater Center is a major regional theater in Dallas, Texas . It produces classic, contemporary and new plays. The theater was based in the Kalita Humphreys Theater, a building designed by famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, from 1959 to 2009...

 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, D.C. to popular and critical acclaim.

After these initial successes, the Trilogy opened on September 23, 1976 at the Broadhurst Theatre

Broadhurst Theatre

The Broadhurst Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 235 West 44th Street in midtown Manhattan.It was designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp, a well-known theatre designer who had been working directly with the Shubert brothers; the Broadhurst opened 27 September 1917...

 in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 where it ran until Oct 29, 1976 for a total of 20 performances. The cast included Henderson Forsythe

Henderson Forsythe

Henderson Forsythe was an American actor. Forsythe was known for his role as Dr. David Stewart #2 on the soap opera As the World Turns, a role he played for 32 years, and for his work on the New York stage....

, Fred Gwynne

Fred Gwynne

Frederick Hubbard "Fred" Gwynne was an American actor. Gwynne was best known for his roles in the 1960s sitcoms Car 54, Where Are You? and The Munsters, as well as his later roles: Pet Sematary and My Cousin Vinny...

, Kristin Griffith

Kristin Griffith

Kristin Griffith is an American actress.-Filmography:*New Amsterdam - episode "Pilot" - Mrs. Carlton*Third Watch - episode "How Do You Spell Belief?" - Stevie's Mother...

, William LeMassena

William LeMassena

William LeMassena was an American stage and television actor who appeared in occasional films.Mr. LeMassena was a graduate of NYU. His first Broadway job was with the Theatre Guild, appearing in the 1939 production of The Taming of the Shrew, starring the Lunts...

, John Marriott

John Marriott (actor)

John Marriott was an American film and television actor.Marriott was born in Boley, Indian Territory which is now a part of Oklahoma. He died in Jamaica, Queens, New York City.-Selected filmography:...

, Josh Mostel

Josh Mostel

Joshua "Josh" Mostel is an American actor who is best known for his roles in Jesus Christ Superstar and two Adam Sandler films .-Life and career:...

, Diane Ladd

Diane Ladd

Diane Ladd is an American actress, film director, producer and published author. She has appeared in over 120 roles, on television, and in miniseries and feature films, including Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore , Wild at Heart , Rambling Rose , Ghosts of Mississippi, Primary Colors, 28 Days , and...

, Graham Beckel

Graham Beckel

Graham S. Beckel is an American character actor. He is known for his prolific guest appearances on television but has had prominent roles in several major films as well. Most recently he played Jack Fisk on Battlestar Galactica and Hal Sanders on Heroes...

, and Everett McGill

Everett McGill

Everett McGill is an American actor, best known for mostly playing villains in films like Licence to Kill, Silver Bullet, Dune, Yanks and Under Siege 2: Dark Territory.-Life and career:...

. Although the show received mixed reviews in New York, A Texas Trilogy won the Drama Desk Award

Drama Desk Award

The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...

 for Outstanding Play.

The first work in the trilogy, The Oldest Living Graduate was broadcast on television in 1980, starring Henry Fonda

Henry Fonda

Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...

, George Grizzard

George Grizzard

George Cooper Grizzard, Jr. was an American actor of film and stage. He appeared in more than 40 films, dozens of television programs and a number of Broadway plays.-Life and career:...

, Timothy Hutton

Timothy Hutton

Timothy Tarquin Hutton is an American actor. He is the youngest actor to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he won at the age of 20 for his performance as Conrad Jarrett in Ordinary People . He currently stars as Nathan "Nate" Ford on the TNT series Leverage.-Early life:Timothy...

, Cloris Leachman

Cloris Leachman

Cloris Leachman is an American actress of stage, film and television. She has won eight Primetime Emmy Awards—more than any other performer—and one Daytime Emmy Award...

 and John Lithgow

John Lithgow

John Arthur Lithgow is an American actor, musician, and author. Presently, he is involved with a wide range of media projects, including stage, television, film, and radio...

and won several Emmys.