'Fannie Lou' Musical

Lynn Flickinger

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"I like telling stories. ...   What
I do look for first [in a role], I think, are stories that are worth telling"

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Lynn Flickinger can't remember a time when she was not surrounded by music. In fact, she began delving into it herself when just a youngster.

"I always sang," said Lynn, adding that at age 6 or 7 her musical ear had become sophisticated enough for her to create harmonic lines.

"Mom said she was astounded. On hymns I was singing the harmony," recalled Lynn.

The musical inclination came naturally. Lynn's mom was an organist and pianist, and her grandmother was an opera singer. 

"Music was a second language in our family. It was just a given," Lynn said. Growing up in Bucks County, PA, she also liked to read. That helped Lynn learn to appreciate music's story-telling qualities. She became interested in not only the lyrical, but also the narrative qualities of musical works.

"I like telling stories," Lynn said, adding, "Some of the first recordings I listened to were Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar."

On Oct. 9, 2014, Lynn helped tell the story of voting rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer for "Scenes and Songs from Fannie Lou: At Carnegie Hall." The concert-format event featured selected music from the new, original musical Fannie Lou, which chronicles Mrs. Hamer's voting rights struggle through her interactions with a variety of fictional characters. Lynn played the role of Mrs. Richards, wife of a staunch voting-rights resister. It was Fannie Lou Hamer's story, said Lynn, that led her to
audition for the part.

"What I do look for first, I think, are stories that are worth telling," said Lynn about roles that attract her interest. Among her favorites are Mrs. Gabor in the upcoming film version of Spring Awakening and Nettie in Carousel.

"I loved playing Nettie," said Lynn. "She had such strength, but it was fun."

Lynn also sings with her own jazz ensemble. The Lynn Flickinger Trio performs standards, jazz, blues and folk. The group has performed at festivals and other locales in
the tri-state area.

Lynn took her youthful inclination for music and prepared for a career in the field by studying with several master vocal teachers on the way to earning a bachelor of arts degree in music performance at Greensboro College. She also plays violin and viola, and writes music, primarily choral and
piano pieces.

Just as she first learned to appreciate music through the vocal and instrumental pursuits of family members, Lynn is passing on the gift of music at Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Performig Arts. There, she teaches voice and serves as an inspiration to students looking to pursue a career in the arts.



"I ask my students, 'Would you still do what you do if there weren't an audience?'" Lynn noted. It's a good way to help them think about where they'd really like to go with their lives, she said.

As far as her own life is concerned, Lynn is pleased with its progression. Among her current projects is a role as a senator in the series "Alpha House" with John Goodman. She's also excited about the upcoming "Spring Awakening" film, and is looking to pursue more movie roles.

But regardless of the format, performaning boils down to one thing for Lynn.

"We're here to communicate," she said. "Music, musical theater, acting -- it's all about telling stories."

To hear music samples from Lynn's trio, visit her website at http://www.lynnflicktrio.com.