The Belle of Amherst
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The Belle of Amherst is a one-woman play by William Luce.
Based on the life of Emily Dickinson from 1845-1886, and set in her Amherst, Massachusetts home, the play makes use of her work, diaries, and letters to recollect her encounters with the significant people in her life - family, close friends, and acquaintances. It balances the agony of her seclusion with the brief bright moments when she was able to experience some joy.
After one preview, the original Broadway production, directed by Charles Nelson Reilly and starring Julie Harris, opened on April 28, 1976 at the Longacre Theatre, where it ran for 116 performances.
Harris, who portrayed fifteen different characters in the play, won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play and earned a Drama Desk Award nomination for Unique Theatrical Experience. She appeared in a televised PBS production (available on DVD) and extensively toured the country with the play for a number of years.
