Ann

Theater

Drama

Vivian Beaumont Theater (at Lincoln Center)

Until Sun Jun 30

$$$

Photograph: Ave Bonar

Ann
Photograph: Ave Bonar

Ann
Photograph: Ave Bonar

Ann
Photograph: Ave Bonar

Ann

Photograph: Ave Bonar

Ann

Time Out rating:

Not yet rated

Be the first...

Time Out says

Fri Mar 8 2013

Theater review by David Cote. Vivian Beaumont Theater (see Broadway). By Holland Taylor. Dir. Benjamin Endsley Klein. With Taylor. 2hrs. One intermission.

Okay, we know that everything’s bigger in Texas, but does Ann, a tribute to ex-Lone Star State Governor Ann Richards (1933–2006), really need to be in a Broadway house? The one-woman show—woven from Richards’s speeches, her coworkers’ anecdotes and the author’s affectionate invention—covers a fair amount of its subject’s eventful life and the divisive issues that roiled her single term. But is the piece theatrically ample enough to deserve the Vivian Beaumont?

Yes and no. On the one hand, Taylor is a wonderfully engaging, sparkly presence who wears the role like a second skin. You utterly believe her Richards: a dryly ribald, steel-spined diva of Democratic politics who stepped onto the world stage when she gave the keynote speech at the 1988 Democratic National Convention in Atlanta. Whether cracking R-rated jokes about bestiality, or advising President Clinton on a Supreme Court nominee, she’s fully in command, managing multiple pieces of gubernatorial business while juggling allies and underlings on the phone with an alacrity that would make Kushner’s Roy Cohn flush with envy.

But the play around this dynamic performer is uneven: chicken-fried hagiography about Richards’s youth and final years sandwiching a tastier center of office business. We watch her at work, planning a family outing while dealing with a variety of state matters: nuclear waste, immigration and the death penalty. (These bits are lively and informative; 90 minutes of them might have made for a stronger overall vehicle.)

For all the patchiness of the text, Ann is still quite diverting. Just as I’m sure Richards mitigated unpopular compromises with down-home charisma, Taylor’s winning performance helps us ignore her small, shaky platform.—David Cote

Follow David Cote on Twitter: @davidcote

2013 Tony Award nominee. See our guide to the 2013 Tony Awards

Comments

Add +

Venue details

MAP

Name:
Vivian Beaumont Theater (at Lincoln Center)
Address:
Vivian Beaumont Theater (at Lincoln Center) 150 W 65th St
Upper West Side
New York

Cross Street:
at Broadway
Venue website:
lct.org
Transport:
Subway: 1 to 66th St–Lincoln Ctr
Map
1. Vivian Beaumont Theater (at Lincoln Center)
  - 150 W 65th St
    Upper West Side
    New York
  - lct.org
  - 40.773644,-73.983757

Event phone:
212-239-6200
Event website:
theannrichardsplay.com

Categories:
Theater. Drama
Event type:
Plays & Shows

Ann 2013

Date Time Price information
Tue Jun 18

7:00pm

$75–$125
Buy tickets
Wed Jun 19

8:00pm

$75–$125
Buy tickets
Thu Jun 20

7:00pm

$75–$125
Buy tickets
Fri Jun 21

8:00pm

$75–$125
Buy tickets
Sat Jun 22

2:00pm

$75–$125
Buy tickets

8:00pm
Sun Jun 23

3:00pm

$75–$125
Buy tickets
Tue Jun 25

7:00pm

$75–$125
Buy tickets
Wed Jun 26

8:00pm

$75–$125
Buy tickets
Thu Jun 27

7:00pm

$75–$125
Buy tickets
Fri Jun 28

8:00pm

$75–$125
Buy tickets
Sat Jun 29

2:00pm

$75–$125
Buy tickets

8:00pm
Sun Jun 30

3:00pm

$75–$125
Buy tickets

Share your thoughts

Your rating
Name *
Email *
Comment *
* mandatory fields

Ann

Time Out rating:

Not yet rated

Time Out says

Venue details

Map

Ann 2013

Near Vivian Beaumont Theater (at Lincoln Center)

Bars and pubs

Restaurants and cafés

Shops

Things To Do

Food & Drink

Arts & Culture

Film

Music & Nightlife

Shopping & Style

City Guide

Tickets & Offers

Site map

City links

Global links