Last night was the first preview of ANN. It was a Sunday night – the kind you want to curl up on the couch to watch Desperate Housewives after having enjoyed a great fall day outside (where did the 70 degrees come from?!), not necessarily the night you want to sit in a theatre seat for 2 hours. But I am so happy I did! When I got to the theater last night, I was met by our subscribers, whom I love, along with a star-studded audience including Rosie O’Donnell (now a resident star of Chicago) and Loretta Swit (from Love, Loss and What I Wore at the Broadway Playhouse).
The show is fantastic! To Holland Taylor, an amazingly gracious and extremely talented actress who is gracing out stage at the Bank of America Theatre, thank you for bringing this show to life. I submit this blog as a thank you to her.
Holland – All I ever want for an audience is for them to go into the theatre just as they are at the end of any given day and to come out transformed, learning something about themselves or others that they were not expecting. And that was a perfect description of last night. It was truly an amazing experience. I thank you for inviting me into the room with not only Ann Richards (who I so looked up to) but also my mother, father and on a base level who I am as a woman, a wife, a mother. Allowing me to be reminded of why I do what I do and what a gift the passion that I have for my work is to me and to others. The essence of knowing that there are many like souls out there that don’t consider their work “jobs” but rather something that moves them beyond their own imaginations. You had the audience in the palm of your hands, as noted by the standing ovation before the lights even came back up for your bow. Thank you for bringing this wonderful play to Chicago.
To all of you – don’t miss out on this show!
Eileen
