When you know someone is a good person who has lived a life in service to others, you often still don’t really know the impact that person has made, or just how many people they helped — until you attend their Celebration of Life.
Such was the case of former Wharton High theatre teacher James “Jas” Warren. As I mentioned in my page 3 editorial in our last issue, Jas passed away after suffering a heart attack at the age of 61, while he and his wife Renee were on a FaceTime call with their daughter Abby and her three sons.
I had seen probably only four or five of the 100+ shows (including, I believe, two of his original works) Jas produced with his LSA (Lighting & Sound America) Repertory Theatre Company during his time at Wharton, and had spoken with him after most of those performances. It was clear at that time that his students — and their parents — loved him. And, as a native New Yorker who had seen at least 50-60 Broadway and Off-Broadway shows in my lifetime, the power of the performances Jas directed let me know just how good he was at his job…