Jan L. Jones' second volume on Fort Worth's theatrical heritage 
presents for the first time a richly illustrated, comprehensive 
history of the showmen, performers, theaters, and events that 
shaped the city's theatrical fortunes in the nineteenth and twentieth 
centuries. Jones chronicles the early amateur theatricals of the 
1870s, the development of Hell's Half Acre with its many variety 
theaters and honky tonks, and the opening of Evans Hall, the 
town's first legitimate theater. By 1883 far-sighted civic leaders 
had completed the Fort Worth Opera House, and by 1886 the city 
had joined the touring circuit of Galveston showman Henry 
Greenwall. Under Greenwall's aegis, many of the era's leading 
players appeared in the city, including Edwin Booth and Sarah 
Bernhardt. The Texas Spring Palace exhibitions of 1889 and 1890 
brought national acclaim and did much to alter perceptions of the 
community as a frontier cow town.

    In the twentieth century, vaudeville's popularity led to 
construction of two Majestic theaters just six years apart, in 1905 
and 1911. Participating in the establishment of the Fort Worth 
Little Theater following World War I was a still-unknown Texas 
writer, Katherine Anne Porter. During the 1930s, the city was once 
again catapulted to national prominence when New York producer 
Billy Rose created Broadway-style revues for Casa Mañana, the 
city's contribution to the Texas Centennial celebration.

    Establishment of the Fort Worth Opera, Casa Mañana Musicals, 
and the Fort Worth Community Theater following World War II 
set the stage for what had become, by the end of the twentieth 
century, a vibrant community of permanent companies, including 
Jubilee Theater, Hip Pocket Theatre, Stage West, and Circle 
Theatre. The twentieth century ended dramatically with 
completion of the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass performance Hall.

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JAN L. JONES is a graduate of Abilene Christian University and 
holds an MS degree in drama from the University of North Texas. 
She taught theater and English in area schools for thirty-one years 
before retiring in 2001 to write and research. She makes her home 
in Fort Worth.