Joely Richardson is surprisingly effective in ‘The Belle of Amherst’

Chances are, the prospect of a two-hour-long, one-woman show about Emily Dickinson won’t send your pulse racing. Nor, for that matter, would seeing The Belle of Amherst performed by “Nip/Tuck” star Joely Richardson. And yet Richardson proves to be a deliciously spry tour guide through the poet’s life and letters. Whoever expected to use “fun” and “Emily Dickinson” in the same sentence? William Luce’s piece was a hit for Julie Harris — earning her a fifth Tony in 1977 — before going on to a healthy life in regional and stock theater. It’s easy to see why. Drawing from Dickinson’s verse, diaries and letters, The Belle of Amherst entertainingly debunks her image as a gloomy spinster.