Ann  | 

Holland Taylor (Ann Richards)

The New Yorker has called Holland Taylor “the first vaudeville Gentile we ever saw.” Her New York stage performances include Bess in Breakfast with Les and Bess, the original productions of Butley, opposite Alan Bates, A.R. Gurney’s The Cocktail Hour, and more recently–David Lindsay Abaire’s dark comedy Ripcord at The Manhattan Theatre Club, and Broadway’s stellar The Front Page, with Nathan Lane. She still holds her head high after long ago on Broadway opening the historic flop, Moose Murders, having taken over for Eve Arden during previews a mere week before. 

Holland most notably stormed Broadway at Lincoln Center’s Beaumont Theatre as both writer and star of ANN, a play about the late Texas Governor Ann Richards. ANN garnered rave reviews, bringing Holland a TONY Award nomination for Best Actress, Drama Desk and Drama League nominations, and the Outer Circle Critics award for Best Solo Performance. There is a filmed version of the 2016 Zach Theatre production of ANN in Austin, when Holland triumphantly brought the show home to Texas as she said she would. That live performance movie of ANN now streams on BroadwayHD.com, and will be broadcast across the country on PBS in summer of 2020.

Over the years in Los Angeles, she has performed on stage in Kindertransport, and played opposite Christopher Lloyd in Yasmina Reza’s two hander The Unexpected Man at the Geffen Theatre. Narrating for the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Stravinsky’s Persephone for Essa-Pekka Salonen, and for John Adams in Phillip Glass’ Ahknaten, Holland also delivered the spoken word in the Harry Potter Suite for Maestro John Williams with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. 

She has worked extensively in film, appearing in Romancing the Stone, Jewel of the Nile, To Die For, Next Stop Wonderland, One Fine Day, George of the Jungle, The Truman Show, Happy Accidents, Spy Kids (2 & 3), Keeping the Faith, Legally Blonde, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s Baby Mama, and Gloria Bell, starring the glorious Julianne Moore. On television, Holland has been nominated for the Emmy seven times, winning Best Supporting Actress in a Drama for the sexy, smart Judge Roberta Kittleson on The Practice. Among numerous series starring roles: The Powers that Be, Norman Lear’s short-lived, highly acclaimed political satire; Bosom Buddies, with Tom Hanks; and, of course, the juggernaut, Charlie Sheen’s Two and a Half Men. Her final season is airing now of Mr. Mercedes, a limited TV series for Audience Network, starring the great Irish actor Brenden Gleeson. It is written by Executive Producer David Kelley, run by director Jack Bender, and based on a trilogy of novels by Stephen King. 

While working in this project, Holland also filmed three movies– The Stand-In with Drew Barrymore, Bombshell, the Jay Roach picture about Roger Ailes, starring Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie, and John Lithgow, and–the cherry on the cake, she played “The Great Leader,” in Bill and Ted Face the Music, which die-hard hordes of fans await next summer. 

Holland also especially enjoyed the role of ‘Stormy,” in NETFLIX’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before sequel, a wildly popular romantic film for young adults based on the charming Jenny Han novels. It airs in February 2020.

Currently she is having a wonderful time filming one of creative mogul Ryan Murphy’s projects for NETFLIX– Hollywood—a behind the scenes take on the lives of a movie studio’s denizens  from the fabled forties. | hollandtaylor.com

As the state theater of California, the health and safety of our patrons, staff and artists are of top priority. The California Department of Public Health issued a mandate that all public gatherings, including upcoming shows and events from now until April 30 at the Playhouse, will be canceled until further notice to protect public health and slow the rate of transmission of COVID-19.

We are monitoring the situation very closely, and Patron Services will be in contact as we receive more information regarding Ann. If you have any questions, please email Patron Services at boxoffice@pasadenaplayhouse.org. 

In the meantime, please consider supporting the Playhouse through a tax deductible donation.