Yesterday evening, I had the great pleasure of attending the opening night performance of my historical farce “Philosophus” at the Plaza Theatre of Wharton, TX.

“Philosophus” was one of three winning plays in the TNT Pops! New Play Contest sponsored by Texas Nonprofit Theatres and, as such, was selected to be produced by one of their member theaters.

Plaza Theatre and Texas Nonprofit Theatres were very kind to host me so I could attend opening night of the show. I arrived in Wharton (a wonderful, quant town of Victorian houses) in the early afternoon on Friday and explored around a bit. I was then taken out to dinner by a member of the board at Plaza Theatre and subsequently attended an opening night reception at the theater itself.

Despite being a small town of ~6,000 people, Wharton has a wonderfully vibrant theater community. Everyone with whom I met was associated with Plaza Theatre in multiple ways – as actors, directors, stage managers, and so forth – and they all evinced a great passion for the theater. The theater itself is a gorgeous space – three stories and all – and is lit up like a multicolored lighthouse at night. The building used to be an old movie theater and now houses a 199-seat main stage space, which is put to good use doing everything from dramas to comedies to musicals.

As for the show itself, it was marvelous, with a very impressive set of actors. I was especially impressed by Juan Monroy, jumping and leaping around the stage in the role of Collini and Dorn, and Episcopal minister Kenneth Dimmic, enunciating his way to pomposity as Voltaire. I was also pleased to meet Fred White of Texas Nonprofit Theaters, who recognized me during the opening of the play and presented me with a bound copy of “Philosophus.” (As part of “Philosophus” winning the TNT Pops! New Play Contest, it has been published by Rebel Belle Publishing.)

Be sure to see the show before it closes!