One of the interesting aspects of “Scenes and Songs from Fannie Lou” is its ability to be fluid, yet still get the message of the voting-rights struggle across to audiences, according to composer/lyricist Felicia Hunter.
“It’s a wonderful vehicle for telling an important aspect of our history, and doing it in a way that can be adapted to a particular audience or group of performers,” Felicia noted.
Case in point: For the upcoming production of “Scenes and Songs from Fannie Lou,” one of the most popular scenes has been entirely refashioned to focus on women instead of men.
“That’s because we didn’t have enough white men audition who could sing,” explained Felicia. “But we had quite a few white female performers audition who were good actors and singers. So, we decided to use the talent we had. We changed the scene in question to focus on women rather than men. We’re in rehearsals now, and it’s working out very, very well. I think audiences will really appreciate their work.”
“Scenes and Songs from Fannie Lou” presents in concert format selected music and dialogue from the critically acclaimed new musical Fannie Lou, inspired by voting rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer. The work, a fictionalized dramatization that tells the story of the voting rights struggle in rural Mississippi during the early 1960s, will be performed July 21 at the Anacostia Arts Center in Washington, DC at 7pm. The performance marks this, the 50th anniversary year of the signing of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Fannie Lou had its world premiere in New York City in 2012. The “Scenes and Songs” version has been produced in the New York-New England region, including a performance at Carnegie Hall last October. The ultimate goal is to take Fannie Lou to Broadway, Felicia said.
For more information about the production, please visit the Fannie Lou website at www.fannieloumusical.com. For tickets, please visit http://www.eventbrite.com/e/scenes-and-songs-from-fannie-lou-tickets-17233909086?aff=es2.
Readers of An African-American Point of View newspaper can receive 20% off ticket the ticket price by entering the promotional code AfAmPOV on the Eventbrite ticket page. AAPOV readers also are invited to download a free instrumental version of “This Little Light of Mine,” one of Fannie Lou Hamer’s favorite songs, by visiting: http://www.fannieloumusical.com/song_samples_from_fannie_lou
