Members of the "Scenes and Songs from Fannie Lou" Carnegie Hall and DC audiences (our most recent performances) have lavished praise on the dramatic original musical, with several offering the same word
to describe it: "powerful." We're extremely grateful that the reaction
has been similar for all our Fannie Lou productions. We asked audience members who attended the first
New York City staged reading of
"Scenes and Songs from Fannie Lou"
(on March 24, 2012) to write down their thoughts and comments on index cards after seeing the production. Here's what some of them had to say:
"Great songs. Wonderful scenes."
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"I liked all the music better than most musicals I've heard this year. Best song was 'Sick and Tired' but all were great."
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"Make It Like It Was Before: Wow!"
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"Haunting, Emotional, Awesome."
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"Favorite songs: Sick & Tired; Bigger Than Myself; Make it Like it was Before;
I Am"
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"Very educational & worthwhile!"
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"Love Scene 3, song, 'Hold On.'"
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"Very moving! Nicely composed songs ... should be a great success!"
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"Music is really good, really catchy. I liked 'How do you know?' [NOTE: "HOLD ON"], "Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired."
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"Thank you for telling Fannie's story that I did not know about 'til now, that I'm 61 years old."
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"The subject matter is still relevant in the 21st century. I look forward to seeing the full show in the fall."
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"Excellent play and cast. Looking forward to the full production & music."
Also, here's a comment from an audience member who attended our world premiere of the full-length production in October 2012. Representative of many such unsolicited emails we received, it is reprinted here by permission.
"I saw Fannie Lou The Musical evening performance on October 6 and got a chance to talk with some of the cast and I had a brief conversation with the wonderful Writer, Director and Musical Composer,
Ms. Felicia Hunter and
the Musical Director,
Mr. Charles Duke. Just wanted to send an email to reiterate what a great experience it was to be able to see this show and I look forward to big things happening with it. The performances were excellent and the usage of partial darkness to demonstrate the beating of Fannie Lou by Clarence (This'll Show You) was not only effective but emotionally gripping. There were so many wonderful performances and scenes throughout the play that I would be hard pressed to pick a favorite as every song, every move, every piece of dialogue did what it was intended to do so kudos to the writer, director, musical director, musicians, the entire cast and crew for giving us this piece of theatre that is something to be remembered. "~ A.H., World Premiere audience member,
reprinted with permission
And this, from one of our world premiere cast members:
"Thank you so much for the opportunity to be a part of this beautiful piece. My friends and family loved the show, the play took them back to their own memories of those hard times. My Dad is in love with the music. My Godfather loved how a show with such old themes was so new and relevant. He said its a needed reminder of how far we, Blacks as well as America, have come. We begin to lose sight of the fight. Across the board everyone had the same response, they see this going all the way and beyond.
Fannie Lou is going above and beyond all limits and bounds -- just as Ms. Hamer did in her own life."
~ K.M, World Premiere cast member,
reprinted with permission
Read about our sold-out world premiere (the first show sold out more than a month in advance!!) at broadwayworld.com.
Copyright 2013 'Fannie Lou' Musical. All rights reserved.