Libby Villari Stars in Benefit Run of ANN, by Holland Taylor

Sonoma Arts Live just added a second Broadway hit to its Women Who Dare season - first EVITA, which ran to sold- out audiences in January, and now ANN, written by Holland Taylor and starring Hollywood actress Libby Villari. ANN will run on the Rotary Stage in Andrews Hall, Sonoma Community Center, as a benefit for Sonoma Arts Live May 17,18,19, 20 and 21.

This hit one-woman show brings bold, daring, fiercely irreverent Governor of Texas Ann Richards back to life, and tells how a wife and mother can unexpectedly end up in politics, having the run of her life. "Ann was passionate about politics, but she never expected to be the horse in the race," says actress Libby Villari. "Then she discovered how much she loved to run."

Ann Richards rocketed to unexpected political stardom thanks to just one nationally televised speech - her Keynote Address at the 1988 Democratic National Convention. Her speech was interrupted 40 times by laughs, applause, and cheers. She started the speech as Texas Treasurer and ended it a media star. Richards went on to clinch the 1990 Governor's race - and women behind the scenes helped her win.

Written and performed by Emmy Award-winning playwright Holland Taylor on Broadway, Taylor's ANN earned Villari a Best Actress Tony nomination in 2013.

"We had to say yes when Villari came to us with ANN, and she fits perfectly in the WOMEN WHO DARE season," says Sonoma Arts Live Executive Artistic Director Jaime Love. "Sonoma is full of bold women and girls digging in and making a difference. ANN is here to recharge us. What the real Ann Richards gave women was encouragement with the accent on courage."

Libby Villari, who plays Ann Richards, is best known for her TV role in Friday Night Lights-playing Mayor Lucy Rodell, who was "not unlike Ann Richards", says Villari. She's appeared in more than 35 films, including Infamous, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, and Boys Don't Cry. She also played the recurring role of Grandma in the film masterpiece Boyhood (2014), which took 12 years to make. Boyhood earned Best Picture at the 2015 Golden Globes, Spirit, and SAG Awards, and an Oscar for Patricia Arquette for Best Supporting Actress.

Villari played Ann in Shreveport, Louisiana at River City Repertory Theatre in February, 2017. Of her performance there, Shreveport Times Arts Editor Neil Johnson wrote: "Veteran actress Libby Villari brings Governor Ann Richards back very much alive...her vitality, knife-sharp sense of humor and political honesty. It's all here."

Another Libby - Sonoma Arts Live Education Director and owner of The Theater School Libby Oberlin -- will lend her talents to ANN, importantly playing the off-stage voice of Ann's indispensable executive assistant, Nancy Kohler. For playing Catherine, the lead role in yet another Broadway hit, PROOF, on the Rotary Stage, Oberlin was voted "best individual performance of 2015" by readers of the Sonoma Valley Sun. She recently won rave reviews as Capulet in We Players of San Francisco's ROMEO AND JULIET.

"We can't wait to showcase more dynamic, amazing women who dare," says Love. ANN Is being directed by award-winning Texas director Sharon Benge, who has directed over 70 plays statewide, and co-produced by Rebecca Otto of Sonoma, who in 2012 served as National Advisor to the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway play, TAKE WHAT IS YOURS.

Show times are May 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21 - evenings at 7:30 pm, Sunday matinee at 2 pm. All-inclusive Opening Night tickets (May 17) feature BBQ and added entertainment. Ann's favorite pie - cherry - will be served throughout the run.

Tickets and more information about Opening Night are available at www.sonomaartslive.org or by calling the Vendini ticketing system at 866-710-8942, M - F 6 am - 5 pm. A fundraiser for Sonoma Arts Live, ANN will play on The Rotary Stage in Andrews Hall, Sonoma Community Center, 276 East Napa Street, Sonoma.