Emmy Award winner Holland Taylor, starring in “Ann” at the Kennedy Center, will be familiar to Washingtonians for her roles in many movies, “Romancing The Stone,” “Legally Blond,” and “Baby Mama” among them, and for her numerous appearances in television series: “The Practice,” and “Two and a Half Men,” to name just two. In the spring of 2007, Taylor started researching and writing a one-woman play about Ann Richards, the charismatic governor of Texas. “It was not a career move or a decision to write a play,” Taylor explained.
“It came about because I wanted to express what I felt about Ann Richards. She was such an important American figure and she meant a lot to me, which I only found out after she died. So this is really a personal quest.”
| Onstage |
| ‘Ann’ |
| Where: The Kennedy Center, 2700 F St., N.W. |
| When: Through January 15 |
| Info: $54 to $95; 202-467-4600; kennedy-center.org |
That quest involved two years of research, taking Taylor to Richards’ archives at the University of Texas in Austin, and allowing her to interview all Richards’ closest friends. “I went in pursuit of her persona,” Taylor said. “A biographer would have to take much longer than I did. Richards’ archives cover four football fields.”
Taylor sensed that she was not the only one who responded deeply to Richards. “The audience response makes it very clear that her effect on people is profound,” Taylor said. “First of all, she was brutally honest. And very fair. Her fairness and desire for inclusiveness are what will make people remember her.
“She made more than three thousand appointments to office. She appointed many females, Hispanics, Blacks, gays, disabled people. And many Republicans. She very much wanted to open up government so everyone could come in, which is quite a feat in Texas. That’s the bell she rang that nobody can un-ring.”
Taylor insists that “Ann” is not about politicians or parties. “Curiously, it’s not political. It’s about participation in government. The first and last parts of the play show Ann as governor talking to the audience, while the centerpiece of the play is an hour in the governor’s office. But the play is not partisan at all. It’s more about what it means to be alive, what it is to be a human being.”
In later years, Richards taught at Brandeis University and worked for special causes, especially women’s rights and fighting osteoporosis. “Richards was always on a mission,” explained Taylor. “She was always working, but she had a wonderful appreciation for play.
“Even as governor she scheduled time to take her staff to a movie or throw a birthday party. She was driven in terms of work but she also had an extraordinary sense of humor, which influenced how she lived. She made sure fun happened all around her.”
