Ann |
May 27 — June 28Iconic, heroic and hilarious, Texas Governor Ann Richards had a heart as big as the state from which she hailed, a wit to rival the greats, and an enduring passion for fair play. Neither partisan nor political, Ann is pure entertainment – an uplifting tribute to this courageous leader, dedicated mother, loving grandmother and legendary personality. Researched, written and performed by Emmy Award-winner Holland Taylor (The Practice, Legally Blonde and Two and a Half Men), whose unforgettable performance the New York Times called “frank, funny and warm…a FIERY DYNAMO,” this richly imagined play reveals a complex, colorful and captivating character whose capacity to inspire us all burns even brighter today.
Ann is a no-holds-barred, “blisteringly funny” comedy (Washingtonian) you won’t soon forget.
“Exuberant and transcendent. ”
Cast
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
Creative Team
Benjamin Endsley Klein (Director)
Benjamin Endsley Klein was born in Charlotte, NC and is a proud alumnus of the University of Michigan. Director of Ann starring Tony Nominated actress Holland Taylor as Governor Ann Richards. Before playing Broadway’s Vivian Beaumont Theatre at Lincoln Center, the production played Chicago and The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Selected credits as Director include Pump Boys & Dinettes and First Date at Pittsburgh CLO, Bend in the Road at New York Musical Theatre Festival (included in Huffington Post’s “The Best Shows of 2013”), the world premiere musical Hello Out There at The Adirondack Theatre Festival, the East Coast Premiere of Sick by Zayd Dohrn at New Jersey Repertory, Hairspray at Charlottetown Festival (Prince Edward Island, Canada), Notes to MariAnne at the Eugene O’Neill Musical Theatre Conference, and Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas at The Old Globe in San Diego, California. As Resident or Associate Director credits include The Ferryman (Tony Award Best Play), Carousel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Tony Award Best Play), War Horse at Lincoln Center Theatre (Tony Award Best Play), Love Never Dies in the West End, Hairspray in the West End (Olivier Award for Best Musical), UK tour of Hairspray, Lincoln Center Theater’s The Coast of Utopia (Tony Award Best Play), and Broadway, 1st National US Tour, and Regional productions of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. SDC Member.
Ticket Options
Advisory
Pasadena Playhouse does not offer advisories about the subject matter for this production, as sensitivities vary from patron to patron. If you have any inquiries regarding content, age-appropriateness or stage effects (such as strobe lights or theatrical fog) that may affect patron comfort, please contact Patron Services during Box Office hours at 626-356-PLAY.
Children under age 5 are not permitted in any performance at Pasadena Playhouse.