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Amy Hill Hearth

Peabody Award-Winning Writer and New York Times Bestselling Author of Works Including Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years 

Broadway & Film Consultant and Advisor

"Having Our Say," the play adaptation of the book, at the Booth Theatre.
(Foreground: Amy and her proud parents.) Photo copyright 1995 by Blair Hearth
 

 

Amy: "I was a consultant and advisor to the producers of the Broadway play adaptation of Having Our Say, which opened at the Booth Theatre on April 6, 1995. Playwright Emily Mann, then the longtime artistic director of the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, NJ, wrote the adaptation and directed the play. As consultant and advisor, I worked with Ms. Mann, reviewing and editing her script, and discussing the production on a regular basis. I worked, also, with the original stars, Gloria Foster ("Sadie") and Mary Alice ("Bessie"). On Mother's Day 1995, I had the great pleasure of bringing the sisters to see the play. 

 
Front row: Sadie Delany, left, and Bessie Delany, right. Middle row: Gloria Foster (who performed the role of Sadie), left, and Mary Alice (who performed the role of Bessie). Back row: Judith Rutherford James, left; Amy Hill Hearth, center; and Camille O. Cosby, right. Ms. James and Dr. Cosby were Co-Producers. Not present: Emily Mann. Photo courtesy of Howard Bingham. Photo taken at the Delany Sisters' home in Mount Vernon, NY., in 1995.
Academy Award-nominated actress Amy Madigan, left, performed the role of Amy Hill Hearth, right, in the film adaptation of the book Having Our Say. Photo copyright 1999 by Blair Hearth taken on location in North Carolina. 
 

 

Amy: "I was a consultant and advisor to the producers of the film adaptation of Having Our Say. I worked with the director, Academy Award-winner Lynne Littman, and producers Judith Rutherford James and Camille O. Cosby. I edited the script written by Emily Mann, and worked, also, with the actresses Diahann Carroll ("Sadie") and Amy Madigan (playing myself) on the set in Charlotte, NC, and with Ruby Dee ("Bessie") at Miss Dee's home in New Rochelle, NY. The film aired on CBS Television in April 1999." 
 

From left: Lisa Arrindell Anderson, Amy Hill Hearth, and Audra McDonald at the White House. Photo copyright 1999 by Blair Hearth.

 

Amy: "The film also featured Lisa Arrindell Anderson (as "Young Sadie") and Audra McDonald (as "Young Bessie"). Several days prior to its debut broadcast as a CBS "Sunday Night Movie" in April 1999, we celebrated at a private party at the White House followed by a preview at the Kennedy Center."   

At the Kennedy Center, from left, Amy Hill Hearth, Diahann Carroll, and Amy's dad. Photo copyright 1999 by Blair Hearth.
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