It was 20 years ago this year that I saw The Hemingway Play. It seems that 1986 was the last time it surfaced on air, which is rather surprising, considering that Hemingway's centennial happened a few years ago. I wonder if PBS has any available copies or if it ever plans to run it again. I can't seem to find it on DVD or video.
It was a great idea for a play, having Hemingway confront himself at different stages of his life. The one thing I remember was that the character or "stage" that I wanted to see most was the Hemingway of about 28 to 30 years old. This was Hemingway at his most active and vibrant period. The two older stages of Papa and I forget the name of the Hemingway character at about 45 were pretty run down and decrepit versions of the man. They were true to form, and I guess being so, were rather pathetic. The "fun" Hemingway was shown best by the late 30's version of Hem. A man still at the top of his abilities.
The dialog was great and even if you didn't know much about Hemingway, it was interesting interaction. The character of the secretary, who reminded all the Hemingways of Hadley was a bit idealized. Also, the actress looked a lot better than Hadley ever did, but the older Hemingways kept saying how much she reminded them of their first wife.
Anyway, it would be great to see this again. I wonder what kind of netherworld a lost piece of video like this goes into.
