2012 marks the 400th birthday of America’s first published poet, Anne Dudley Bradstreet, who arrived in Salem Harbor in June of 1630. To celebrate Mistress Bradstreet’s birth, Gordon College’s History Alive! program has created an original play incorporating her poetry and life story. Titled From the Author to My Dear and Loving Husband, the play explores how a genteel and sickly teenager grew to nurture eight healthy children, establish several communities, and write thousands of lines of published poetry. The actresses—Amelia Haas of Boston, Kim Lamoureux of North Reading, Amy Courage of Salem and Emily Cox of Gloucester-—portray Bradstreet at different stages in her life. These “Annes” also form a chorus of animated objects necessary to survival in the 17th century.
Performances will take place on Sat. June 30 and Sun. July 1 with a reprisal on September 15 and 16, at Salem 1630: Pioneer Village in Salem’s Forest River Park. Tickets can be purchased at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/256264.