Ann Richards, played by Holland Sherry in the show “Ann,” never understood why a woman could not do everything a man does. “After all,” she says, “Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did. She just did it backwards and in high heels.”

That is an apt way to describe what Richards did as the Democratic governor of Texas before George W. Bush was elected. Richards — and by extension Sherry, who embodies the role completely — is one of the most charming and disarmingly funny politicians of all time. This performance shows that Sherry is one of the better actors on the Broadway stage.

Sherry’s enthusiasm never wavers over the two hours. It might seem exhausting to wholeheartedly watch a one-woman show, since the plotline can quickly stray into the darker side of the character’s internal struggles, but “Ann” surpasses this obstacle.

Over the course of the play, Ann tells the story of her upbringing and, when she becomes governor, the audience is given  access to her office, which discreetly slides out from backstage, over the course of a day in her life. But all of our access is privileged. The acoustics of the space are set up, intentionally or not, so that her uproarious keynote speech takes the audience out of New York and back into Texas, and everyone’s laughter seems to reverberate through a space very unlike a dampened Broadway theater.

Bleakness is often mistaken for sincerity, as in romantic comedies with a melancholy ending. Oftentimes this is considered more realistic than Hollywood happy endings. But it seems easy to believe that maybe Ann really was as wonderful as the play would have us think. Her romance ends badly, as does her time as a functioning alcoholic, but there is never a moment when she asks for pity or seems anything less than ecstatic to be alive, even if just on the stage doing what she loves: speaking.

— Alexander Tsebelis