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Mary
Wadkins gave an excellent performance of "The Belle of
Amherst", William Luce's one-woman play about Emily Dickinson, at
Hamilton College on February 6, 1997. It was received
enthusiastically by the audience -- students, faculty, and
"civilians" alike -- who filled the college's Minor Theater to
capacity that night, and as their remarks since have testified, it has
remained for them one of the high points of the spring semester.
With the intelligence of her interpretation of the role, and with the
wit, range and versatility of her acting, Mary Wadkins turned Luce's
ambitious play into a tour de force that did not explain
Dickinson of her work, but brought her to life. It was an
impressive and memorable performance.
The
same intelligence and wit were evident the day after in the way Mary
Wadkins handled by students' questions and comments about the play and
about Dickinson in a rather heavily enrolled introductory class in
reading poetry. Her special insights, gained while traveling with
the play for some years, provided a fascinating counterpoint to the
Dickinson of the classroom, and they enlivened our discussions for
weeks.
As
in the performance itself, Mary Wadkins was the consummate professional
in the preparations for it, too: pleasant, efficient and easy to work
with. If the occasion arose, we would not hesitate to invite her
to Hamilton again. |
