ByDennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Diana Carter Anderson portrays poet Emily Dickenson
in ASATAD's "The Belle of Amherst."
ASATAD principal Diana Carter Anderson portrays Dickinson in this one-woman show. Anderson and director Eden-Lee Murray prove as extraordinary as Dickinson and playwright Luce in bringing the 19th Century American poet to life.
The premise is simple: The year is 1883. We are visiting the reclusive poet at her home in Amherst. Our visit opens with idle chitchat; Dickinson shares a favorite recipe and reflects on her position as the town's mysterious "spinster" recluse who wears white all the time - even when others wear black. She entertains us with tales of her snoopy neighbors' attempts to intrude on her self-chosen solitude, and does an comical impression of one particularly self-righteous busybody.
Almost without warning Dickinson and Luce have us traveling back and forth through time and observing pivotal moments in her life.
It's indicative of Luce's skill as a playwright that the journey isn't strictly lineal or chronological. We seem to jump around at random through 30 years of Dickinson's hopes and joys and disappointments. There are the moments in her teens when she imagined she'd someday be the sought-after "belle" of Amherst. Conversations with her formidable father; he encouraged her interest in writing poetry. Friendships. Love - apparently unconsummated. And the disappointment of being told that her writing style was spasmodic and her poems unpublishable.
So they said, and so it seemed. Dickinson wrote over 2,000 poems. Seven were published during her lifetime, and those seven were "improved" by editors. A century later the editors are forgotten and Dickinson ranks as one of America's greatest poets.
Luce's skill is also seen in the way that much of what we learn is presented indirectly. There are times when what Dickinson doesn't say is the key, and times when Anderson's expression or vocal inflection is as important as what she says. Such subtleties make "Belle" a fascinating experience, particularly since Anderson resists the temptation to overplay the key lines.
Almost the entire script comes from Dickinson's letters and poems. The play becomes a glorious introduction to her poetry, and an inspiring celebration of personal freedom.
Darren Hochstedler does a masterful job in creating the environment. His beautifully detailed set invisibly subdivides into different locations in the Dickinson home and gardens; changes in lighting further define movement through time and space.
Dickinson's thoughts on feeling different from the people around her, on having dreams for the future, and the importance of family, love and hope transcend ethnicity as completely as they transcend the era in which she lived.
Teens growing up on the poetry of Snoop Doggy Dogg, Hootie & The Blowfish, and Alanis Morissette just might discover through "The Belle of Amherst" they enjoy Dickinson as well. It could happen!
What: "The Belle of Amherst," presented by ASATAD