who presented "the belle of amherst" in the winterim 1985 course at barrington college

What can we learn from the Belle of Amherst?

William Luce’s The Belle of Amherst shows us both the heartbreak and the joy of Dickinson’s secluded life. A life she crafted through her passion and pain.

When did the Belle of Amherst by Emily Dickinson take place?

The Belle of Amherst Written by William Luce Characters Emily Dickinson Date premiered April 28, 1976 ( 1976-04-28) Place premiered Longacre Theatre New York City 2 more rows ...

How does the story unfold in the Belle of Amherst?

The story unfolds through the use of her life’s work, her diaries and letters. The audience is introduced to 15 leading characters and the impact they had on her life. William Luce’s The Belle of Amherst shows us both the heartbreak and the joy of Dickinson’s secluded life. A life she crafted through her passion and pain.

Who is the actress in the Belle of Amherst?

China Zorrilla as Emily Dickinson, 1981 The Belle of Amherst is a one-woman play by William Luce.

What is the Belle of Amherst about?

Critics applauded the play for its ability to bring together Emily Dickinson’s poetry, letters, family tales, and memories in a way that portrayed her reclusive life. One critic commented that Julie Harris, who acted in the role of Dickinson, actually became her during the play. Luce was lauded for his ability to merge the poetry with the text of the play. In 1987 a television production of The Belle of Amherst won an International Emmy Award for its adaptation of the play.

What is the play "The Belle of Amherst" based on?

Luce, William. The Belle of Amherst: A Play Based on the Life of Emily Dickinson. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1976.

What were the responsibilities of the Dickinson family?

The father’s obligations centered around working outside the home and making most decisions. The mother, on the other hand, ran the household—cooking the meals, raising the children, and keeping it clean. Children were expected to behave, work hard in school, and help their parents as needed. As an example, because Emily’s mother was ill and restricted to bed, Emily prepared the food at the Dickinson home (the Homestead) while her sister, Lavinia, took care of the other chores. In the play, Emily discusses the many foods that she bakes for the Dickinson family, such as black cake, gingerbread, rhubarb cupcakes, rye bread, and Indian bread.

What was William Luce's interest in writing?

After spending many years as a musician and singer, William Luce turned his attention to the writing of “mono-dramas” or one-person plays with a particular interest in female writers. He worked as a composer and playwright for television shows as well as Broadway theater. He enjoyed writing plays about famous literary women, as demonstrated by The Belle of Amherst, as well as mono-dramas about Zelda Fitzgerald, Lillian Hellman, and Emily Brontë.

Why was it important for Puritans to convert?

This conversion was important to Puritans because they believed that only those who had converted could join God following their death. For a bright young person made a partial recluse by illness, with time to think about serious religious issues, it was a confusing period. Emily Dickinson was torn between her own doubts and family as well as social pressures to acknowledge Christ. Before she was a mature woman, she began to withdraw from the duress into the protection of her home and garden, expressing herself largely through her unpublished poetry.

What was the feminist movement in the 1970s?

During the 1970s, a strong feminist movement emerged that advocate d equality between women and men. In 1966 Betty Friedan, author of The Feminine Mystique, and a small group of women founded the National Organization of Women (NOW), a group dedicated to gaining equal rights for women, similar in many ways to the movement born of the Seneca Falls Convention in the midnineteenth century. In the 1970s NOW pushed for political changes and lobbied successfully for the passage of the Education Title IX Act (1972), which required that women be given equal opportunities in school admissions, job hiring, and team sports. The next year, the Supreme Court struck down state laws against abortion in the case of Roe v. Wade. More significantly, women were choosing to remain single rather than marrying. In 1975, 23 percent of all women were single, a much higher figure than the 13 percent of the 1830s. In short, the 1970s was a decade of increasing freedoms for American women. It was in this atmosphere that William Luce decided to bring to the stage a woman poet who was out of step with most women of her time in terms of religion, marriage, and work and did not receive much attention during her own life.

Why did the Dickinson family worship together?

The family worshipped together in order to work for the conversion of all family members. Father Dickinson, however, was skeptical of most of the organized religions of the time and took many years to take the step toward open conversion.