BWW Reviews: Richardson Brings Ironic Nerdiness to THE BELLE OF AMHERST

Just as the words Mark Twain Tonight! can barely escape ones lips without conjuring up images of Hal Holbrook wearing a white suit and a bushy mustache, theatregoers may be more likely to associate The Belle of Amherst with its original star, Julie Harris, than the subject of William Luce's solo play, Emily Dickinson.

Harris won the 1977 Best Actress Tony Award for her portrayal, toured the play extensively, picked up a Grammy for her spoken word performance of the piece and starred in its PBS telecast.

But Harris wasn't playing the role in a time when literary nerdiness was considered hip, so when Joley Richardson takes the stage in director Steve Cosson's new Off-Broadway production, her performance seems informed by 21st Century appreciation of irony and introversion.

Dickenson achieved no fame in her lifetime except for a local reputation for being a reclusive oddball, spending most of her days inside her Amherst abode known as The Homestead. Though the poet was 53 years old in 1883, the year the play was set, Richardson, who is close to that age, is quite energetic and youthful; a more contemporary-seeming woman in her 50s.

"I enjoy the game," she tells us on the outset. "I've never said this to anyone, but I'll tell you. I do it on purpose. The white dress, the seclusion. It's all deliberate."

Perhaps it's a part of the game that the refreshment she puts out for an expected guest is black cake, a desert that gets its color from an abundance of raisins. Her recipe also calls for 19 eggs.

The slight bit of plot involves a visit she's expecting from a publisher. Given the circumstances it's not spoiling anything to note that the unseen gentleman turns her down and is very critical of her skills as a writer.

But the bulk of the two-act play is a collage of remembrances and writings that Richardson tackles admirably, accentuating the character's highbrow eccentricities and creative ambitions.

Despite the writer's posthumous fame, Richardson's charming portrayal emphasizes how a major talent defends herself against the disappointment of obscurity with humor and determination.

"My business is to sing! What difference does it make if no one listens?"