Local talents roam, return
JERRY AULDS

Live theater jazzes me, as it presents live, touchable people making me/us believe that the world depicted up on that stage is a real world and the actors need not have trod the Broadway stage. They may be teachers at the local high school, our neighbors, doctors, lawyers or even candlestick makers.

For the previous three weeks they were the cast of Grease, singing, laughing, crying and dancing to music rendered by a live band at the Plaza Theater in Wharton and with the purest form of White Magic convincing sold out audiences and their 30-, 40-, and 50-year-old selves that they were indeed hot-rodding, jivetalking, rock-and-roll teenagers.

I must admit from the first high-energy production number, my bride Dayle Bebee Aulds and I strutted and clapped our way willingly to bamboozle land.

The glow from the theater experience glimmers still. We can't wait to rekindle the magic with the next production.

The lingering afterglow also makes clear that the communities of this area possess remarkable, exportable talent.

And in truth, for years residents of Wharton and surrounding counties have taken to the road informing, inspiring, entertaining, making music, laughter and sense to audiences way out there and then returning to sweeten the waters of home.

Among our envoys is Shannon Pickard, the co-director and one of the leads in Grease, who hits the road several times a year entertaining and enthralling young and old audiences with a blend of high energy yet gentle, thought-provoking humor.

And the next time you see Doc Blakely fiddle around on a local stage (he was not in Grease) remember that Doc is one of our exports, with a value as a platform speaker worth perhaps as much as a good rice harvest.

Joe Tom Davis, author and Texas historian, also now takes to the road entertaining and informing on Texas history, but still makes it home in time to take his place in the choir at First Baptist Church in El Campo.

And oh yes, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Horton Foote still maintains a home in Wharton as well as gracing home folks with personal insights.

The return on Wharton County artistic exports is the fact that they return.