Review: Sierra Madre Playhouse Welcomes a Treasure-Filled BELLE OF AMHERST

The Belle of Amherst/by William Luce/directed by Todd Nielsen/Sierra Madre Playhouse/through April 23

Based on the poetry, diaries and letters of poet Emily Elizabeth Dickinson of Amherst, Massachusetts, William Luce's The Belle of Amherst opened to great acclaim on Broadway in 1976 winning a Tony for its star Julie Harris. Petite like Dickinson herself, Harris continued to play the role for 25 years, again reviving it on tour at the Laguna Playhouse in the year 2000. I am happy to say I saw both the 1976 and 2000 productions, which were indeed mesmerizing. Now at Sierra Madre Playhouse, tall and very unique Ferrell Marshall produces and stars as Emily in a brave and exciting performance through April 23. I can only say that in spite of her physical differences, she pulled me in immediately and in the end made me feel every bit as joyful as when I had seen the play before.

Not unlike Amherst, Sierra Madre is a quaint little town, so it seems the perfect environment for the play that stretches in time from 1845 to 1886. Amherst in those days was not the booming college town it is today, but still when you passed through Amherst, at least in the 70s, its tiny downtown area with a bevy of little boutiques, one movie theatre, the famous Lord Jeffrey Inn and a few scattered but first-rate eateries was/is somewhat similar to the intimacy of Sierra Madre. Amherst produced Emily Dickinson, a singular soul who remained secluded there with her family her whole life. In spite of the privacy and natural beauty it provided, it was brimming with gaiety and an unstoppable intellectual fervor. Dickinson's eccentric genius and Amherst's quaint environment suited each other's needs, and they became inseparable.

The play has an upclose, intimate structure. At the top Emily greets the audience for tea with an introduction to her famous homemade Black cake. She gives out her recipe and makes everyone feel right at home. Within her discourse, she flashes back to her youth and talks about her stern father, who eventually became a congressman, her sister Vinnie and brother Austin. She peers out the window from time to time and admires her orchard as she 'spies' on neighbors passing by. Luce gives us some delicious gossip about the town eccentrics, allowing Emily to display a totally frivolous and mischievous side. She loved to stroll through the garden and watch the little snakes and listen to the humming birds. This lady saw beauty in the tiniest details, and she quotes copiously from her lyrical little poems about the wonders of nature. Words were her life, and she is playful especially with phosphorescence, the light within that distinguishes great poetry from mediocre. She writes and spells the words out loud, encouraging the audience to take part in her sacred word game, which is quite amusing as well as enlightening.

On the sad side of Dickinosn't life is the fact that most of her work did not get published during her lifetime. At the encouragement of her sister-in-law she prepares to send poems to author Thomas Wentworth Higginson with the hope of publication. Act One concludes with her overly eager anticipation of his arrival in Amherst to discuss her work. When he does arrive at the top of Act Two, it is a major disappointment as he critiques her meter as spasmodic and her rhyme as uncontrolled. She justifies her fresh style, but to no avail, as the poems continue to rest in her mahoganny chest.

The second letdown is love. On her way home from viviting her father in Washington. Emily falls madly in love at first sight with a minister in Philadelphia, Charles Wadsworth. She was only in his presence twice in her life, the second when he came to Amherst to visit her quite by accident, twenty years later. It is then that she realizes their love will remain platonic; dutifully, he must remain in his world and she in hers. Sad for Emily, who needed and longed for intimacy but was left dispairing. On the positive side, she put her feelings into a poem. Emily only lived to age 56, and no man ever came close to her father or ... Master, Mr. Charles Wadsworth.

Luce's ability to interweave Dickinson's poetry with her friendly chatter is remarkable. One flows beautifully into the other with a seemingly effortless stream of sonsciousness. Under director Todd Neilsen's caring hand - he has a great eye and ear for detail - Marshall gives a truly radiant performance. As I mentioned earlier, she is not built like Dickinson. but what she does with the genuine spirit of the lady is a wonder. Via a crystal clear delivery of Emily's own thoughts and words, she manages to engulf us with an aura of optimism about life. Even at the most difficult junctures, Dickisnosn found happiness in her limited world and Marshall imbues her portrayal with every nuance of that joy and passes it on to us who leave the theatre full of hope.

Matthew G. Hill has designed a lovely parlor set against the walls of which he periodically flashes light and green projections of the surrounding orchard. Vicki Conrad is the costume designer, who has fashioned a long white dress for Marshall. White was Dickinson's favorite color. AS Marshall struts about she puts on a hat, or a shawl or a cloak for exterior wear, all period perfect.

Don't miss The Belle of Amherst at Sierra Madre Playhouse! The play is a treasure, and this production, enhanced by Nielsen's loving touches and the polish and flair of Marshall's outstanding work, is another feather in Sierra Madre Playhouse's hat.

www.sierramadreplayhouse.org

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