The Belle of Amherst

Poetess Emily Dickinson was pert and unpredictable and William Luce’s biographical drama engages us as it allows Dickinson to reveal herself as a strong individualist who laments “those poor village ladies, with their dimity convictions.” She tells her tutor, “We shall read everything, naughty words and all.” Life is Dickinson’s subject, crystallized by the playwright into “… a love affair with language, a celebration of all that is beautiful and poignant. Not a recitation or a reading, but a well-rounded work of theatre, this play will entertain with its wit and its whimsy. Dickinson was a great American poet, but first she was a nineteenth century American woman! Julie Harris won the 1977 Tony Award for Best Actress for her starring role as Emily Dickinson.