Academy and Tony Award winner Mercedes Ruehl begins performances as Diana Vreeland tonight.
Full Gallop, which premiered at the Old Globe Theatre 20 years ago, starts its return run tonight.
The show follows Diana Vreeland, the original fashionista and larger-than-life doyenne of American style. Before Anna Wintour and Sex in the City, Diana Vreeland was the pinnacle of taste until being unceremoniously fired as editor of Vogue. In response, she retreats to her infamous all-red New York apartment and plots a comeback that hinges on a magazine of her own. The complicated and strange journey plays out as a one-woman tour de force in the play, which presents not only a style icon but an individual who irrevocably changed American conceptions of clothing, art, and life.
Written by Mark Hampton and Mary Louise Wilson and directed by Andrew Russell, the play features Mercedes Ruehl as Diana Vreeland.
"Andrew Russell, making his Globe debut, finds potent new currents of emotion, humanity, and entertainment in this beguiling story of a defining moment in Diana Vreeland’s life," said Globe artistic director Barry Edelstein. "She was grand, her vision capacious, and her impact national, and it takes a very special actor to embody a character as imposing, significant, and extravagant. Mercedes Ruehl is an American treasure, a fearless talent who understands the expressive power of style, and her talents are a precise fit for Vreeland."
The creative team includes Sean Fanning (scenic design), Mark Mitchell (costume design), Robert J. Aguilar (lighting design), Matt Starritt (sound design), Brian Meister (assistant director), and Annette Yé (production stage manager).
Performances will run through October 25.
For tickets and more information, click here.