“Fannie(The Music and Life of Fannie Lou Hamer)”

Highly Recommended ***** The Goodman Theatre is back! Back to back “monster” productions directed by Henry Godinez have filled both of the venues contained in this historic building. Both of the stories are historical as well. “American Mariachi by Jose Cruz Gonzalez tells a story of a first and the current show, “Fannie ( The Music and Life of Fannie Lou Hamer)” written by Cheryl L. West ,tells us the tale of a young uneducated woman who despite all the barriers of her time, was able to overcome them and get the power to speak for her rights.

Watching this story unfold, and the pure majesty of E. Faye Butler bringing this ladies story to life was 78 minutes of pure art. Last  Fall, during Covid, when outdoor functions of entertainment could be done, an abridged version of this show, “”Fannie Lou Hammer, Speak On It!” toured the Chicago Park District allowing people to get out of their homes, see some live entertainment and learn about this amazing lady. That was a free offering that the Goodman brought to the people. We have been active in Facing History and Ourselves over the years and knew something of this woman, but in Ms West’s play, under the skillfull eye of Godinez and performed by Ms Butler, one could not ask for a better way to learn their history.

Onstage alone ( there are three musicians behind the screen) Ms Butler takes us on the voyage of how Fannie was able to do what she did. Fannie Lou Hamer was known for her political activism and efforts for civil rights. An uneducated woman who was as poor as one could be, she fought her way to gain the rights that were hers and for others. Not just for the African-American women, but for all women. She was involved in the founding of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party as well as the National Women’s Political Caucus.

The amazing part of this story is when this all took place. It was the 1960’s! Yes, I had just graduated  high school, and was preparing for college. Sixty years ago our world was far from what it is today, but we still have problems dealing with people of color and the class system still exists. Rich versus poor! Seems as if the rights of people are somewhat based on their lifestyle. What Ms Hamer fought for was equality and in spite of what she did for our country and our women, there is still work to do. This is an eye opening look at history , an amazing figure in that history and a message that we need to look back so we can look forward. One might say, contained within this story is “The Rest of the story” ( as Paul Harvey used to say).

Today, as we see the unrest in our nation, celebrating the life of this woman makes sense. Her passion, endurance and power to overcome is an eye opener for our youth who for some reason are unaware of the rights they have and how they came to them.

Joining Ms Butler onstage are musicians Deonte Brantley (percussion), Morgan E ( piano), Felton Offard ( electric guitar  Oct 15-31) and  Michael Ross ( Acoustic Guitar-Nov 3-11). They also do vocal back-ups for the dozen or so musical numbers that many of the audience members knew such as “Oh, Freedom”, “We Shall Not Be Moved”, “Keep Your Eye on The Prize” and “I Love Everybody”, to name a few.

The set by Collete Pollard is perfect and the projections that blend in to the story by Rasean Davonte Johnson add a great deal to the production. Michael Alan Stein’s costumes are perfect for the period and the wig (Mr. Bernard) made Ms Butler look very close to Ms Hamer.

“Fannie” is a “MUST SEE” for any history buff and for those who lean towards getting involved in the political scene. “Fannie” will continue thru November 21st in the Owen Theater ) the smaller venue) at The Goodman located at 180 N. Dearborn with performances as follows:

Wednesdays  7:30 p.m.

Thursday  7:30 p.m

Fridays  8 p.m.

Saturdays  2 and 8 p.m.

Sundays  2 p.m.

Box office  312-443-3800 or www.goodmantheatre.org

ACCESSIBILITY PERFORMANCES

Touch-tour and audio described November 7th  ( touch at 12:30/performance at 2 p.m. )

ASL- November 13th  2 p.m.

Open-captioned  , November 14th 2 p.m.

more info visit www.GoodmanTheatre.org/Access

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Fannie ( The Music and Life of Fannie Lou Hamer).

The Goodman follows all CDC guidelines. Mask must be worn during the entire production. Vaccination and photo IDs will be required before entering the theater. Visit www.GoodmanTheatre.org/Protocols