Fannie: The Music and Life of Fannie Lou Hamer tells the impassioned story of American civil rights activist and hero, Fannie Lou Hamer. From her humble origins as the daughter of a Mississippi sharecropper to co-founding the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and demanding recognition at the National Democratic Convention, hers is a story of justice that will not be denied. A co-commission with the Goodman Theatre of Chicago, Fannie was well-received during its October-November 2021 performance run. Chicago Tribune named the Goodman production a top 10 theater Chicago experience of 2021 and published that the show was “a stirring experience that not only honored its subject but the social activism of the year itself.”

Seattle Rep’s production will also feature award-winning performer, E. Faye Butler in the titular role. Butler’s career spans over 40 years; she has performed and directed both musicals and plays in theaters across the country and internationally. She has won many awards for her work including nine Joseph Jefferson Awards, two Helen Hayes Awards, four Black Theatre Alliance Awards, an Ovation Award, a Sarah Siddons Leading Lady Award, an Excellence in the Arts, R.A.M.I. Award, Two Black Excellence Awards, and many others. Seattle Rep audiences know Butler from her stand-out performance in Cheryl L. West’s Pullman Porter Blues in 2012.