The Belle of Amherst, written by William Luce, directed by Todd Nielsen is presented by Sierra Madre Playhouse and Honey B Productions. Produced by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc. Starring Ferrell Marshall.

The Belle of Amherst of the title is Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), a pioneering female American poet, who remains influential to this day. Although only ten of her poems were published during her lifetime, some 1,800 were published after her death, not including two new collections published since 2013 consisting of poems collected from scraps, chocolate wrappers and envelopes. Her concerns regarding her compositions extended beyond themes and the choice of words to the way the word visually appeared on the page.

Dickinson, an educated woman from a prominent family, was considered an eccentric. Living in a house on Amherst, Massachusetts’ Main Street, she became gradually more reclusive as she got older. Neighborhood children referred to her as “the Myth.” Her closest associations were with her devoted sister, Lavinia, and her sister-in-law, Susan. Dickinson frequently wore white, and wrote often about death and immortality.

Ferrell Marshall stars as Dickinson, and also portrays fourteen other characters from Dickinson’s life in The Belle of Amherst. Dickinson is brought vividly to life as a woman capable of experiencing both intense joy and deep melancholy, a woman of passion and extraordinary intellect. Ms. Marshall also portrays the men, family members and friends that Dickinson loved and who loved her in return.

Ms. Marshall recently won the Stage Raw Award for Featured Actress for her performance in Enron, for which she also received a Scenie Award. She received a Scenie Award and a Broadway World nomination for a Leading Actress performance in a 2012 production of The Beauty Queen of Leenane. The following year, she received Broadway World nomination for her performance in the L.A. premiere of The End of It. She has been performing on Los Angeles stages for over three decades. She is also a voice-over artist, has appeared in several independent films, and is a painter. An online gallery of her nature-themed paintings can be found at ferrellmarshall.com, The current production of The Belle of Amherst marks the fruition of her decades-long ambition to play this role.

Todd Nielsen directs. As a seasoned Director of over 100 productions, Todd has received a number of awards recognizing his work both as director and actor over the years as well as numerous nominations and “critic’s picks” from Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, Backstage, Dramalogue, LA Weekly, LA Stage Scene, Broadway World and LA Stage Alliance. His productions of both On the Twentieth Century and City of Angels won the LA Ovation award for Best Musical (Intimate Theatre). LA Stage Scene honored him as one of the Best Directors of the 2012-2013 season. He had the pleasure and exciting challenge of acting as Resident Director for one of the National Tours of Disney’s The Lion King. Recent productions include Bye, Bye, Birdie, Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure both for Glendale Centre Theatre, White Christmas for San Diego Musical Theatre, Mr Scrooge for Nine O’Clock Players and Closer Than Ever for International City Theatre.

William Luce is the playwright. His Broadway credits include The Belle of Amherst, Barrymore, Lucifer’s Child and Lillian. For television, he wrote Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter, The Last Days of Patton and The Woman He Loved.

Sierra Madre Playhouse Artistic Director: Christian Lebano. Managing Director: Estelle Campbell.

The Belle of Amherst will be running in repertory with A Wrinkle in Time, the subject of a separate release.

“A perfectly detailed cameo of Emily Dickinson….Luce has avoided all the pitfalls associated with literary figures brought to life on stage. He has made Emily so warm, human, loving and lovable that her ultimate vulnerability will break your heart.”—Boston Globe

The Belle of Amherst will be performed March 18- April 23, 2017. Saturdays and Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m. Admission is $30. Seniors (65+) $27. Youth (13-21) $20. Children 12 and under, $17. Discounts are available for groups of ten or more.

To purchase tickets or for reservations, contact (626) 355-4318 or visit www.sierramadreplayhouse.org.

Sierra Madre Playhouse, 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre. This is just east of Pasadena. There is ample free parking behind the Playhouse.