Holland Taylor may be on an Apple TV+ hit, Morning showbut the Emmy nominee couldn’t resist taking part in an off-Broadway play, ONwhen she read the “unbelievably brilliant” script.
“It’s a very lively show,” Taylor, 81, tells PEOPLE. “By the time I got to page 30, I called my agent. I said, ‘Tell them I’m really interested in it. I’m happy to do it.’ And I was in rehearsal in a few weeks.”
The play, which runs at New York’s Lincoln Center Theater through September 1, is inspired by true events and centers on N (played by Taylor), the first female speaker of the House of Representatives, and A (played by Ana Villafañe), the youngest woman ever elected to Congress.
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Holland Taylor.
Victoria Stevens
As it happens, Nancy Pelosi was the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House of Representatives when she was elected in 2007, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was the youngest woman elected to Congress at age 29 in 2018.
“People say it’s about Nancy Pelosi and the AOC [Ocasio-Cortez]. It’s not just about them as people,” explains Taylor. “He evokes them to show the dialogue between generations and political viewpoints, and to show how politics actually works. What is it? What does it mean if you are a politician? what do you do How do you play what you want to happen in society?”
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Ana Villafane and Holland Taylor during a conversation on ‘N/A’.
John Lamparski/Getty
Taylor continues, “A younger character, like AOC, she’s 30. And an older character is 80, like Nancy. And so, it’s not vernacular. It’s not normal conversation. They’re always talking about politics, politics and political activity , and they often have opposite sides.”
She says that “character N” serves as a sort of mentor to A, “who is a challenger.”
“So it’s like AOC and Nancy in that respect. But it’s not a personal portrait,” Taylor explains.
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Holland Taylor.
Victoria Stevens
Did Pelosi see that? “I don’t know, no,” Taylor says. – She has been quite busy lately.
“All I know is that I don’t want to know,” she says. “I never want to know if there’s anyone out there because I’m afraid it will cross my mind, and I want to focus on what I’m doing.”
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One fan who is often in the audience? Taylor’s girlfriend, actress Sarah Paulson.
“She comes into everything I do,” Taylor says. “She comes more than once, which is so flattering. I don’t know how anyone can handle that. I know when I’m alone Anni pulled my own rendition of ann [Richards] in Pasadena a couple of seasons ago, she must have come to that thing seven times. It was amazing.”
He calls Paulson “a very specific fan.” After watching a performance, “she’ll tell you things you did that were so great,” says Taylor. “She’s definitely a wonderful fan.”
Tickets for ON are on sale at natheplay.com.
For more on Holland Taylor, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribe here.
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Source: HIS Education