Florence Nightingale:
The Reluctant Celebrity
Testimonials
“Candy Campbell traces the pattern of Hal Holbrook’s Mark Twain for authenticity and historical gravitas leavened with a sparkling wit…”
~ Bill Buchanan, Lodestar Enterprises
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Some of our clients
"Like all successful Chautauqua scholars, Candy is incredibly knowledgeable about her character. What sets her apart is her background in theater and education. She has a stage presence that makes her character come alive in a way most Chautauqua style performances don’t. It was more than a monologue, it was a story of Florence Nightingale’s calling to become a nurse, her struggles to become a nurse, and her triumphs in the field of nursing seamlessly woven together …
Candy’s use of voices, humor, music, and full stage movement provided a truly captivating and authentic performance…Her depiction of Nightingale to make connections between Florence Nightingale’s time and our current healthcare system that otherwise wouldn’t be possible, and as a result, her performance was more relevant than most. We would highly recommend Candy Campbell to any organization looking to engage lovers of history and honor nurses in their community."
- Sarah Schaefer, Director of Education, Museum on Main, Pleasanton, CA.
"We were so pleased with Candy Campbell's production of An Evening With Florence Nightingale at our fundraising weekend. We had full houses all three performances and attendees LOVED her Miss Nightingale !"
- Helen Means, Producer, The Campbell Theatre (no relation), Martinez, CA
"...Dr. Campbell performed masterfully as Florence Nightingale during one of the general plenary sessions...she kept the audeinces both engaged and inspired; exactly what we were looking for." I highly recommend Dr. Campbell as a professional presenter, actor, author, and speaker."
- Rebecca Graystone, MS, MBA, RN, NE-BC, Vice President, American Nurses Credentialing Center
"...Dr. Campbell's An Evening With Florence Nightingale: The Reluctant Celebrity is an inspirational journey through the amzing life of this seminal figure and her trail-blazing work in nursing, health, and healing. As a nurse and scholar on her subject, Dr. Campbell brings to life the compassion and steel realities of healthcare. The show was a terrific match for our Solo Arts Heal..."
- Stephanie Weisman, Founder/Artistic Director, The Marsh Theatre, San Francisco, CA
"...We wanted a speaker with energy and humor; one who could connect with our audience of nurses and healthcare providers of diverse experiences and backgrounds. Dr. Campbell certainly delivered through her performance of Florence Nightingale: The Reluctant Celebrity.
...During her interactive performance...she portrayed Florence Nightingale with such authenticity...artfully explored contemporary healthcare issues and engaged the audience using charm, wit, and poignant anecdotes from Nightingale's life and times.
Dr. Campbell was a pleasure to work with and to watch....We recommend her without reservation!"
- Rachel Ramsey, MS, RN, VP, Xi Nu Chapter, STTI Indiana
"...Thoroughly enjoyed An Evening with Florence Nightingale: The Reluctant Celebrity. Expertly performed. Highly entertaining. Eye opening. Dr. Candace (Candy) Campbell as Florence Nightingale is terrific!"
- Evan Pappas, Artistic Director, The Argyle Theatre, Babylon, NY
"...she presented her solo show, An Evening With Florence Nightingale: The Reluctant Celebrity, as entertainment after dinner. Members were amazed; it felt like we were living history! We learned so much about Nightingale, her life, her challenges, and the lessons learned that are so applicable to today. (As Nightingale, she also answered all our audience questions with such wit and sage advice.) It was truly spectacular.
I can personally attest to the fact that Dr. Campbell was the kind of speaker that made our conference a huge success. She was so easy to work with and brought such value, I hired her again for my WVU healthcare organization’s Nurse Professional Development Days."
- Lya M. Cartwright-Stroupe, DNP, APRN, CPNP-PC, NEA-BC, NPD-BC
President-WVONL
"...thank you for your outstanding performance...The event appealed to a wide audience that included nursing faculty, students, and the general public. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive...commented on the very informative and engaging nature of the performance. You enriched our entire community..."
- Tony E. Wohlers, PhD, Dean, Behavioral Sciences, Harford Community College
" During the pandemic, Sutter Health wanted to give back to our nurses. From an organizer's perspective, the challenge included travel restrictions and safety concerns for our speakers. Dr. Candy Campbell appeared virtually as none other than Miss Florence Nightingale and delighted our attendees with her performance. We highly recommend her to any Nursing Conference!"
- Surani Hayre-Kwan, Director, Professional Practice and Nursing Excellence, Sutter Health System
"After our publicist discovered "Dr. Candy Campbell: The Innovation Nurse" online... I was awestruck. Finally, we had found a professional historical interpreter, who not only possesses the skills of a classically trained actress, but the work ethic and oratorical expertise to appeal to a variety of demographics; namely the corporate sector, into which History At Play, LLC has been increasing our involvement over the years.
...Collaborating with Candy on History At Play, LLC's episodic livestream series "Pay-Per-HAP" was a delight and our History Loving Family and Patrons were mesmerized by her skill, not only as a historian, but also as a spoken word performance artist. Never have I seen an integration of contemporary pop culture performance art blended with historical interpretation in a manner that educated and amazed simultaneously. My hope is to share the physical stage with Candy Campbell as an historical interpreter and actress.
Candy is an immaculate performer, consummate professional, and friend. Thank you for your talent and dedication! BRAVA & HUZZAH!"
- Judith Kalaora, Founder/ Artistic Director at History At Play™,
"I am absolutely awestruck after watching Dr. Campbell perform as Florence Nightingale. She brings her character to life with heart, humor and wisdom. It is truly sensational. She has mastered the art of audience engagement in a form rarely seen. See her if you can! Simply unforgettable."
"What a wonderful way to celebrate Nurses’ Week 2022 by watching Dr. Candace Campbell portray Florence Nightingale! Her ability to take her audience back in time was amazing. Often times history can be boring, but Dr. Candace Campbell made the journey back in time interesting and funny. I am so thankful I was able to attend her awesome portrayal of Florence Nightingale as it was the highlight of my Nurses’ Week!"
- Teresa Hess, RN Case Manager, Disease Management Specialist at Parkview Health
"We’ve never seen a better one-person performance. Now there are some comedians such as Colin Quinn, Martin Short, Steven Wright, Jerry Seinfeld whom I’ve seen do hour long stand up shows that are also amazing. Hal Holbrook was pretty good in his Mark Twain. But for dramatic presentation, with humorous touches, Candy really has the great act. Florence Nightingale was, up until now, not a subject of particular interest to me. Just some historical figure. Well, no more! Now’s she someone I’m thrilled to have met! Candy’s performance as Florence was so entertaining, so theatrically finessed, that learning the actually fascinating history was simply an unavoidable side-effect. The framing device of the Archangel Michael time-transporting her to our day, the first person narrative shifting to three-way dialogs of Florence and her mother and father, or retorts from the Army surgeon, or, twirling on stage, remembering her teenage calling to become a nurse against the convention of her privileged family, an occasional song fragment at which Ms. Campbell is amazingly gifted, all of this conveyed a whole life in the liveliest of ways. This was a spectacular performance. We’d like to see Candy LIVE, maybe on tour, or preferably on Broadway!"
- Ken Hantman Co Founder at R3Results.”
Attendees say Nightingale historian, Dr. Candy Campbell, presents a spectacular historical and contemporary view of Florence Nightingale in her one-person show. CLICK on the image to see VIDEO, as fans predict the show on Broadway! (It happened 2023!)