Though Preston Jones is often linked with Texas due to his celebrated play series, A Texas Trilogy, his roots trace back to New Mexico. Graduating from the University of New Mexico in 1958, he initially embarked on a teaching career before opting to delve deeper into theater studies at Baylor University and Trinity University. His passion for theater flourished under the guidance of Paul Baker, a prominent figure who also directed the Dallas Theater Center, where Jones would later carve his niche.

Early Career and Personal Life

Jones's journey with the Dallas Theater Center began in 1960 as an actor, a role he soon expanded by stepping into directing. He remained a steadfast part of the center until his untimely passing in 1979. During this period, he was married twice. His first marriage saw him living in Colorado City, Texas, a town that inspired the fictional Bradleyville in A Texas Trilogy. His second marriage was to Mary Sue Fridge, whose creative prowess as a set designer left a lasting imprint on his plays, particularly in designing sets for the trilogy.

Rise as a Playwright

In 1972, Jones took the helm of Down Center Stage, a small experimental theater within the Dallas Theater Center. Faced with a dearth of regional playwrights, Jones’s creative instincts led him to pen his own scripts. The outcome was A Texas Trilogy, a remarkable achievement that graced Broadway with a sixty-three performance run in 1976.

The Plays of A Texas Trilogy

The trilogy opens with The Last Meeting of the Knights of the White Magnolia. This play revolves around a fraternal lodge meeting at the Cattlemen’s Hotel in Bradleyville, set against the backdrop of 1962. The lodge, a relic of white supremacy with deep roots in the Ku Klux Klan from 1902, is caught in the throes of the civil rights movement. Colonel Kincaid, a World War I veteran and central character, ironically entrusts the lodge’s initiation book to Ramsey-Eyes, the black hotel custodian, showcasing the self-contradictory absurdities of the lodge’s racism.

Lu Ann's Static Life

The second play, Lu Ann Hampton Laverty Oberlander, aptly captures the essence of its protagonist's life. Lu Ann, bearing a name that reflects her Texan roots, clings to her maiden name, Hampton, highlighting a life seemingly frozen since her high school days. Her past marriages to Dale Laverty, a cattle truck driver, and Corky Oberlander, a Highway Department inspector who died tragically, mark her journey. An encounter with her high school love, Billy Bob Wortman, now a preacher, reveals her reluctance to marry him due to his "silly" sounding name, unaware of the humor in her own.

Exploring Legacy and Memory

The trilogy concludes with The Oldest Living Graduate, which reintroduces Colonel Kincaid, now celebrated as the oldest graduate of the Mirabeau B. Lamar Military Academy. As the school relocates to Bradleyville, Kincaid is to be honored as the last surviving member of its inaugural class. Yet, the colonel, disillusioned by the horrors of war and tradition, challenges the academy’s ceremonial gestures, while a subplot unfolds involving Kincaid's son, Floyd, further enriching the narrative.

A Shift in Setting

After the trilogy, Jones turned his creative lens to his homeland, New Mexico. His play A Place on the Magdalena Flats marked a foray into tragedy, while Santa Fe Sunshine offered a satirical take on Santa Fe's artistic milieu. The play Remember delved into the autobiographical, providing an introspective glimpse into Jones's life and experiences.