HOLLYWOOD, CA - Papa is an enjoyable night of theater. Written by award winning playwright and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist John deGroot, Papa is a one man show based collection of interviews and by those who knew him best.

Adrian Sparks hits the mark in his portrayal of Ernest Hemingway. Sharing life stories and anecdotes while making alcoholic drinks that were strategically hidden throughout the set, Mr. Sparks seamlessly becomes Hemingway with ease. Inserting the right amount of humor and intellect enables the audience to care about a man who fought in world wars, conversed with well known individuals such as Gary Cooper and F.Scott Fitzgerald, and who wrote The Old Man and the Sea and For Whom the Bells Toll.

Being awarded and dealing with the 1954 Nobel Prize in literature, surviving two plane crashes, and having an unusual high rate of suicides in the family do make compelling stories. Balancing it out are his touching experiences with first love, his son, and his innate ability to see a lesson learned from all the balls thrown at him.

Directed Martha Demson, Papa is not over done nor is it under played. What is presented is a rare glimpse of an writing icon who at the end of the day was as ordinary, as brave, and as afraid as the respected elder we have all met sometime in our lives. A respected elder who was flawed, but still intelligent and ever so captivating to hear him or her speak.

Go see Papa!  Highly Recommended! – Adrian Rennie

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