Due to demand, TheatreSquared announces second extension of "Ann"
The no-holds-barred portrait of Ann Richards, on stage now, finds a new star in Libby Villari April 1–19
FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS—February 26, 2020—TheatreSquared’s new comedy is a hit, and Ann will extend performances for an additional three weeks. Current star Sally Edmundson will depart the production on March 29th due to a prior commitment after a six-week run at the new venue in downtown Fayetteville. The production will welcome a new Ann on April 1st, as Friday Night Lights veteran Libby Villari takes over Holland Taylor's Tony Award-nominated, “tough as nails, funny as hell” play about former Texas Governor Ann Richards. Dallas-based Villari has performed the role in Texas, California and Louisiana. She is best known for the Oscar-nominated film Boyhood, and as Mayor Lucy Rodell in the TV series Friday Night Lights. Villari comes recommended by none other than playwright and the originator of the role, Emmy Award-winning actor Holland Taylor.
“I knew she was good, because she'd had wonderful reviews wherever she played,” said Taylor. “I thought, ‘That's my gal.’“ We are delighted to be able to extend our time with the governor,” said Robert Ford, Artistic Director. “The response to the show has been unprecedented. There are only a few actors who are up to this marathon play. Sally Edmundson is slaying audiences with her hilarious and heartfelt performance every night, and T2 is thrilled to find, in Libby Villari, another world-class artist to fill those iconic heels. ”
Cast & Creative Team
TheatreSquared’s production stars Texas-based actress Sally Edmundson through March 29th, and her performance has generated enough word of mouth to sell out a dozen performances in the first weeks. Libby Villari takes over the governor's desk beginning April 1. Villari previously played the role at the Zach Theatre in Austin, Texas and Dallas Theater Center in Dallas, Texas.
Reviews have been positive wherever Villari has tackled the role. “Villari plays the governor with a lay-it-all-out excitement,” wrote the Austin Chronicle. “Villari's comfort as the character forms the show's backbone, inspiring enough laughs, cheers, and applause to shame even the most popular up-and-coming politician.”
Added BroadwayWorld, "Villari oozes that classic Texas charm that can't help but make you feel at home, and every single aspect of her performance is pure magic."
The creative team for Ann is led by director Kim McKean, and includes Ashleigh Burns, scenic design; Jennifer McClory, costume design; Megan Reilly, lighting design, and Sam Clapp, sound design.
Performance Schedule
Performances are scheduled at the new TheatreSquared, located at 477 West Spring Street in downtown Fayetteville. To accommodate simultaneous performances of My Father’s War in the West Theatre, performances will move to an 8pm start on March 24.
Playing schedule through March 22
Tuesday–Friday: 7:30 p.m.
Saturday: 2:00 p.m.; 7:30 p.m.
Sunday: 2:00 p.m.
Playing schedule March 24- April 19
Tuesday–Friday: 8 p.m.
Saturday: 2:30 p.m.; 8 p.m.
Sunday: 2:30 p.m. There is no performance on Tuesday, March 10 at 7:30pm , Tuesday, March 31st at 8pm, or Saturday March 18th at 2pm.
Ticket Info
Single tickets range from $17-$58. Tickets are available at (479) 777-7477 or online at theatre2.org.
Through T2’s Lights Up! For Access program, supported by the Walmart Foundation, SNAP benefit recipients can purchase $5 tickets, while students and patrons under the age of 30 can purchase $10 tickets. For more information, visit theatre2.org/lights-up. Fully subsidized, free tickets are also available for clients of a number of local community service organizations.
About TheatreSquared
TheatreSquared’s signature offering of bold new plays in an intimate setting has driven its growth to become the state’s largest theatre, offering more than 300 performances annually in two intimate spaces. The playwright-led company is one of mid-America’s leading laboratories for new work, having launched more than 60 new plays. Notable collaborators have included Bryna Turner, Anne García-Romero, Pulitzer Prize finalist Lisa D’Amour, Qui Nguyen, Mona Mansour, Tony Award nominee Lee Blessing, Amy Evans, and many others. TheatreSquared’s remarkable expansion—with a twentyfold increase in audience in just the past decade—parallels the emergence of its home region in the northwest corner of Arkansas as a booming population center and destination for American art. Offering far-reaching access and education programs and an open-all-day gathering space, the Commons Bar/Café, TheatreSquared remains rooted in its founding vision, that “theatre—done well and with passion—can transform lives and communities.”
For further information or press tickets, contact TheatreSquared at (479) 445-6333 or visit theatre2.org.
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Ann is made possible in part by lead show sponsors Nick & Carolyn Cole and Margaret & Dick Rutherford, as well as show sponsors Peter & Anne Leer, Bob & Diane Shaw, Tod Yeslow & Jackie Telfair, and Ann Marie Ziegler.
Major funding for the TheatreSquared Season 14 is provided by The Walton Family Foundation, Inc.; the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art; the Walker Charitable Foundation; the Walmart Foundation; and by the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Marketing support for TheatreSquared Season 14 is provided by Experience Fayetteville, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Fayetteville Flyer, CitiScapes, KUAF, MailCo USA and Univision.