Ann Richards' Texas
So this isn't necessarily music related, but I enjoyed it and thought I'd share.
I'm not really political by any means, but I do love learning about former Texas governor Ann Richards. I'm a fan of strong woman who break down barriers and create their own path. Ann Richards is definitely one of those types of women.
I first knew of her through, of all places, FOX's "King of the Hill". In 2001, Season 5, Episode 11- "Hank and the Great Glass Elevator", Ann did a guest spot. I was curious about her and looked her up online and started reading about her. Not only was she sharp and well informed (unlike a lot of politicians) she created all sorts of programs, gave a lot of people chances they wouldn't have been given otherwise and was not afraid to play ball in a man's game. Above all though she had that impeccable sense of humor and down home wit.
Flash forward to 2010 and I'm watching "The Rosie Show" on the OWN Network. One of Rosie's guest stars was Holland Taylor (who you may know from CBS' "Two & a 1/2 Men"). She didn't talk much about the show, her focus was on her current project which was a one woman show entitled "Ann: An Affectionate Portrait of Ann Richards". I then hopped online and was watching clips of it on YouTube, reading all kinds of interviews Taylor had gave about the play and above all else...where was it coming to so I could see it?!
It just so happened it was coming to the Kennedy Center mid December and running through mid-January. I jumped at the chance of going and went in January. Holland Taylor was fantastic as Ann. I had seen a lot of clips and interviews of the real Ann Richards and watching Taylor dressed as Ann, talking with the accent, you would've thought Ann Richards was really up there on stage. I read that she plans on taking the show to Broadway and I can't wait til it finds a home so I can see it again.
This past Wednesday I logged onto one of my favorite sites, dollymania.net, and saw Dolly Parton was going to be in a documentary about Ann Richards! If you know me, you know I LOVE Dolly...I just think she is amazing so putting Dolly & Ann together? That's a home run right there. I watched the trailer and looked up movie. It was premiering Thursday night in Silver Spring, MD at the AFI SilverDocs Documentary Film Festival. I was of course working Thursday so I couldn't attend. I figured it was just starting to get shown and I'll have chances later to see it. Well, Saturday I had no plans and thought I'd see if there were other show times sooner than later and it was playing at the Festival that afternoon at 4:30!
I asked my mom if she'd like to go (she had no clue who Ann Richards was) and she said sure so we headed down to Silver Spring, about a 2 hour or so drive from here. I go to the box office and it was sold out and the lady told me if I wanted tickets I'd have to wait in the stand by line. So for 2 hours my mom and I waited in the stand by line...we were the 2nd and 3rd people in line. The woman behind was had seen around 10 of the films so far and was loving this whole documentary festival. She filled us in on the different ones she saw and said after hearing such great things from a friend about the Thursday night showing of Ann, she had to try and catch it. Luckily about 15 minutes before showtime everyone in line (there were about 20 of us) managed to get seats.
One of the directors, Keith Patterson, was there and introduced the film. The movie was filled with great clips of Ann speaking, campaign footage, interviews with people who worked for her and a few celebrity friends. Along with the humor of Ann, you also saw the struggles she had to deal with being a woman in the political field. The audience, including myself, was entertained and many applauded throughout the film. After the credits, Patterson announced the film had won The WGA Documentary Screenplay Award. He also took a few questions from audience members and talked about about some of the interviews he conducted.
It was definitely a worthwhile trip and if the film is going to be shown anywhere near you, please go and see it. Even if you don't like documentaries or politics, you will be thoroughly entertained and maybe it will encourage you to find out more about what a great woman the late great Ann Richards was.
Links to find out more:
Ann Richards' Texas
http://annrichardsmovie.com/
Ann: An Affectionate Portrait of Ann Richards
http://www.theannrichardsplay.com/
Comments
Post a Comment