NTA brings historic Navasotans to Life
People drive by them every day—family names etched in stone on the buildings of historic downtown Navasota. This month, Navasota Theatre Alliance will breathe new life into some of those local surnames during the 11th annual Lanterns & Legends, “Faces Behind the Façades.”
This year’s event will portray eight different historical figures whose surnames are familiar along Washington Avenue in order of appearance.
• Maurine Chinski portrayed by Mary Jane Jones.
• Azzalie and Rivers Aristide Patout, Jr., portrayed by Christina and Silas Moores.
• Ida Nemir portrayed by Marylee Argueta.
• William Albert Miller Sr. portrayed by Grant Holt.
• James T. Lott portrayed by Steve Watkins.
• Dr. Alfred Huntington Ketchum portrayed by Mark Taylor.
• Mattie Bookman Craig portrayed by Rachael Altman.
The original script, written locally by writers Gary and Mavis Anderson and Mark Taylor, focuses on the contributions of the historic namesake families that are buried at Navasota’s Oakland Cemetery.
“These people were community leaders,” said Taylor. “They were in the business and society pages of the newspaper every week, and their decisions shaped the community we live in today. Lanterns and Legends honors these individuals by remembering not only their accomplishments, but their personalities, their character, and their work ethic, too.”
This year’s Lanterns & Legends is directed by Joyce Yorek, who also serves as NTA Board President.
“It’s fun for us to bring these characters to life at their actual grave sites,” Yorek said. “Tour guides use lanterns to lead groups through the cemetery to visit seven different grave sites. At each site are actors dressed in period costumes who are then interviewed by the tour guide.”
This year, in addition to three nights of performances at Oakland Cemetery, NTA will offer a Sunday afternoon matinee performance at Sunny Furman Theater in the Ketchum Building at 104 W. WashingtonAvenue. The Ketchum building is named for Dr. Alfred Huntington Ketchum, who is one of the featured characters on this year’s Lanterns & Legends tour. NTA has called the building home for the past three decades.
“We’re also doing something new this year,” Yorek said. “After the last tour group finishes on Saturday evening, the actors will head over to Patout’s Wine Shoppe on WashingtonAvenue for an informal question and answer session. We’re featuring Azzalie and Rivers Patout Jr. on the cemetery tour this year, and their grandson, Jay, and his wife Krystal, were excited about hosting us at their wine shop.”
Each of the stops on the cemetery tour is about 10 minutes long, and tour groups leave every 15 minutes beginning at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available on the NTA website at, www.navasotatheatre. org. The cost is $14 for cemetery tour tickets and $10 for the Sunday afternoon 2 p.m. matinee.