THE STORY: ROSE is the Kennedy story as told by the matriarch who lived it all. Set in 1969 at the Kennedys’ Hyannis Port compound the week after Teddy’s fateful accident at Chappaquiddick, Rose struggles with all the tragedies the Kennedys have overcome and finds new understanding of the choices she made as well as those made by her husband and children. Inspired by audio recordings Rose Kennedy made, ROSE takes the audience on a fascinating and unexpected journey with someone we think we know.
…this charming solo show…has moments of magnificence…a ladylike drama, in keeping with its subject’s public persona…” —The New York Times.
“…an incisive, sobering take on the family with perhaps the greatest claim (earned or otherwise) to American royalty…” —Talkn’ Broadway.
“ROSE is a rare and personal glimpse into this great woman’s life and legacy…Anyone who has studied the Kennedys will appreciate the diligence with which playwright Laurence Leamer goes to in capturing Rose’s awareness of her family’s position.” —Theasy.
“…there is real drama here: As Rose lets her public stance slip, Leamer does something clever, almost cruel: He makes Rose the unreliable narrator of her own life, showing how her dedication to the Kennedy myth made her a leading player in the almost unimaginable series of tragedies that have brought her, in her 80th year, to this desolate place…ROSE is a remarkable portrait of a woman who played the hand she was dealt without ever looking back.” —Lighting and Sound America.
