Review: ANN Reminds Us How Much We Need Someone Like Her Today

ANN, written and performed by Emmy® Award winning actress Holland Taylor, is a one woman portrait of Ann Richards, the legendary governor of Texas. Richards' persona was as big as the state itself and just as colorful. Originating at the Galveston Grand Opera, the show has played to sold-out audiences across Texas, winning critical acclaim in Chicago, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and on Broadway at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater where she won the Outer Critic's Circle Award for Best Solo Performance. ANN has returned to ZACH Theatre in a production directed by Benjamin Endsley Klein.

The evening starts out as a commencement address and through flashback covers Richards youth through to her post Governor years. What is revealed is an in depth portrait of this amazing woman who was fighting for the same things that still ring true in our current political arenas. What is also revealed is just how much we need a woman like Ann Richards today and how sorely she is missed.

Benjamin Endsley Klien directs this piece so that it flows beautifully. Michael Fagin's set changes locale and time through clever use of scrims and projections and a stunning slide out office set, enhanced by Sarah Maines atmospheric lighting design.

Holland Taylor's tour de force recreation of Ann Richards channels her with every physical gesture and vocal nuance in this loving tribute to the political legend. The Texas spitfire lives again through this remarkable performance. Her performance shows us not only Richards' determination, but also her wit and charm. This is a performance that deserves to be seen not only by fans of the legendary politician, but also by people who are unaware of her... especially those who feel disenfranchised by our current political state of affairs. This is a person they need to know about before November.

Dressed in a white suit and matching "closer to God" Texas hair-do, Taylor is deeply immersed into this funny and introspective history that shows why Richards' appeal was and is as big as Texas.

ANN by Holland Taylor

Running time: Two Hours plus a 20 Minute intermission.

ANN, produced by Carl and Claire Stuart, James Armstrong and Larry Connelly, Mindy Ellmer, Carolyn and Marc Seriff, and Brian McCall, playing at Zach Theatre in the Topher Theatre (202 South Lamar Blvd.). April 6, 2016 - May 15, 2016. Wednesdays through Saturdays, 7:30 pm. Saturdays & Sundays at 2:30 PM. Tickets http://tickets.zachtheatre.org/

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