COMMENTS & REVIEWS
...what critics, audiences,
directors, producers and presenters
are saying about this new play.
"Jordan Rhodes and Lynn Moore bring Hemingway to life! What a treat for all of us. PAPA "the man, the myth, the legend" is a great event in the theatre".
- Robert Wagner
"The outstanding performances of Jordan Rhodes and Lynn Moore combined with excellent set design, lighting design, original music, authentic costumes and props make PAPA "the man, the myth, the legend" a wonderful evening of theatre".
- Frank Capra, Jr.
"Play gives audience look at Hemingway's action-packed existence. The play is a delightful romp through Hemingway's panoramic life. Rhodes dominates the stage as Hemingway. He is in turn daunting, gleeful, frustrated and arrogant".
- Lynn Trenning
The Charlotte Observer
-Complete review-The night Hemingway came to town and left an unforgettable impression on this theater lover. Papa, the man, the myth, the legend was nothing less than terrific. I could have been sitting in an off-Broadway theater - the production was that professionally mounted and the acting that good. Jordan Rhodes played Hemingway and did a great job. He captured nuance. He did his homework. When Rhodes read Hemingways Nobel Prize acceptance speech he was spot-on with inflection and intent. The play, written by Rhodes and Ken Vose, both of whom have extensive credits in film and television, takes place in Hemingways mind. Hemingway is in Ketchum Idaho, and we meet him just before he is about to put a shotgun to his head in 1961. - The play does what good theater is supposed to do. Hemingways women are another thread that runs through the play and they were played by Lynn Moore. For one actor to assume roles of five women in Hemingways life must have presented a challenge, but Lynn Moore managed it marvelously. The women were brought to life. Michael C. Sapp directed and the pacing of character development and the actors stage movements added to the interest of the story being told by Rhodes Hemingway. I hope the play succeeds financially, it did succeed artistically.
- Pete Skiba
Theater Critic, The Brunswick Beacon.
-Complete review-"A beautifully conceived, superbly performed production... I learned more about Hemingway in two hours than in all the books I'd ever read about him. Terrific theatre - what more can I say..."
- Bruce W. Stark
NY Theatrical Producer."High praises for this well written drama, which Jordan Rhodes and Lynn Moore superbly bring to life. 'Papa' is a MUST SEE!"
- Laura Lynn Scigliano
Pasadena Playhouse Alumnus."The production was supported by attractive lighting and wonderfully chosen and mastered sound cues. The personal props and costumes had a real sense of authenticity. the audience became mesmerized by the character, and hung on his every word. Upon exiting the theatre they commented on both the life of Ernest Hemingway and the outstanding performance of Jordan Rhodes"
- Bruce Phair, Director
Darte Center for the Performing Arts
Wilkes-Barre, PA."An enthusiastic audience gave a well deserved standing ovation to Jordan Rhodes and Lynn Moore in the new play, PAPA: "the man, the myth, the legend.""
- Becka Powers
Greensboro News and Record
-Complete review-"A strong script, a well designed and functional set, beautiful original music, creative direction PLUS brilliant acting = PAPA, the man, the myth, the legend. A wonderful evening of theatre! "
- Sam L. Garner, Executive Director/Producer
The Thalian Association, Wilmington, NC."...Jordan Rhodes portrayal of Papa, complete with the self-destructive tendencies, was joyous, sad and devastatingly honest"
- Wayne Bradley
WLGX - Smooth Jazz 106.7."Forty-one years after his death, biographers and scholars still are searching through personal artifacts and disecting every sentence of every book and letter the man ever wrote, just to discover a trace of Mr. Hemingway's true personality.
Wouldn't it be nice to get his side of the story?"- Amy Hotz
Wilmingson Morning Star.
-Complete review-
My Comments and Thoughts Regarding the Direction of
"PAPA," the man, the myth, the legend."Playwrights Ken Vose and Jordan Rhodes have crafted a tightly, well structured view into the life of Ernest Hemingway. From his early years as an ambulance driver in Italy during WWI, his forays into the literary elite of Paris, his fascination with bullfights in Spain, his life in Cuba, his trips to the plains of Africa, serving as a journalist through several wars, and his obsession with beautiful women. Hemingway is portrayed as a man who is not content to just live life but rather hurls himself at it. Jordan Rhodes co-wrote and performs the role of Papa. His portrayal is no less than genius as he leads us not only through a full range of emotions but subtly transforms himself over two hours from a vibrant nineteen-year old to a man of sixty whose energies and intellect suffer from too much living. The five scenes of the play flow effortlessly with transitions performed by Lynn Moore as the five women in Hemingway's life, all portrayed succinctly and effectively. "PAPA" is important and exhilarating theatre."
-Michael C. Sapp - Director, Presenter and
Executive Director of Odell Williamson Auditorium.
The following article is from the
Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, PA, Friday, May 17, 2002
Play
probes complex by Mary Therese Biebel
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