L A S T WO R D
THE SHOW MUST GLOW ON Mason Johnson left an incredible – and stylish – legacy at Texas Wesleyan
Mason Johnson was a professor of theatre arts and speech at Texas Wesleyan from 1958 to 1985. He left substantial contributions to the esteemed university theatre program, as well as the Fort Worth cultural scene at large – as these incredible playbills attest. Recognized as a prominent pioneer in the local theatre community, Johnson’s first contribution to Fort Worth theatre commenced in 1956 with the production of Brigadoon at Texas Wesleyan. In 1959, Johnson founded the Children’s Theatre at Casa Mañana. In the 1970s he served on the Casa Mañana
board of directors, and he eventually went to serve on the boards of the Fort Worth Ballet and the Fort Worth Opera. More of the Mason Johnson collection can be found in Texas Wesleyan University’s Special Collections archive online at archives.txwes.edu. Many photographs in the collection feature individuals who have not been identified. If you know the name of someone in a particular photo, please email Caitlin Rookey, digital initiatives librarian, at crookey@txwes.edu. View the collection at txwes.edu/playbills
Louis Sherwood ’89, university archivist, Caitlin Rookey, digital initiatives librarian, and the university special collections team contributed to this report. 32
Wesleyan | SPRING 2022
