Bishop Arts Theatre to Present FANNIE: THE MUSIC & LIFE OF FANNIE LOU HAMER

Bishop Arts Theatre Center will continue its 30th Anniversary season with the Regional premiere of Cheryl West’s Fannie: The Music & Life of Fannie Lou Hamer, a collaborative production with Dallas Theater Center. This production is a 75-minute show performing May 2 – 18, 2024, for three consecutive weekends. DTC Brierley Resident Acting Company member, Liz Mikel, returns to Dallas after a year performing on Broadway to play the legendary 1960’s civil rights activist, Fannie Lou Hamer. This show celebrates the woman whose courage, humor and grit reminds us that there’s courage in the face of fire, hope in tomorrow, and that we all have a stake in our country. 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. Part theater, part revival, and all power – this one-woman show with music will have your head nodding and hands clapping from start to finish.
 
Liz Mikel is a multifaceted artist who has been a staple in the DFW Arts scene for more than 30 years. Her love of performing, warmth, magnetic presence, and dynamic voice have endeared her to audiences worldwide. Like a painter with a blank canvas, she makes every performance an original. An accomplished actress and vocalist, Liz has transitioned seamlessly from stage to television, studio recordings, cabaret, and feature films. Ms. Mikel has toured both nationally and abroad and has worked alongside some of the industry's biggest celebrities. Her recurring role as Corrina Williams on NBC's Emmy Award Winning Series, Friday Night Lights, tugged the heartstrings of viewers and critics alike. She had audiences laughing in the star-packed, Martin Lawrence blockbuster, Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins, playing the wife of the late Michael Clark Duncan. She was cast by comedian/director, Ben Stiller, and body slammed him in, The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty. And director Tate Taylor, (The Help), handpicked Mikel to portray Gertrude Saunders opposite the late, great Chadwick Boseman in the James Brown biopic, Get On Up.
Mikel received rave reviews in both her Off-Broadway and Broadway debuts as the all knowing muse/madam, Hetaira, in the Douglas Carter Beane/Lewis Flinn musical, Lysistrata Jones.
Liz had the prestigious honor of being personally invited by Activist/ Playwright, Eve Ensler to participate in the star-studded 10th anniversary of the Vagina Monologues. In addition to performing her selected monologue, she was also chosen by Ensler to stand in for Oprah Winfrey in her absence. Mikel joined Ensler for the World Premiere of her comedy, O.P.C., at the Tony Award-winning American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Mass. In 2018, the Tony Award-winner sought out Liz for yet another premiere. Ensler teamed up with the Abingdon Theatre Company to bring her trio of short plays, Fruit Trilogy, to the Lucille Lortel Theatre. The play, which deals with the exploitation and eventual reclaiming of the female body, came on the 20th anniversary of her groundbreaking work, The Vagina Monologues.
Liz has been lauded and recognized for her artistic achievements by D Magazine, Dallas Theater Critics Forum, Dallas Observer, Dallas Voice Reader's Choice Award, The Sankofa Award, Leon Rabin Award, The Column Awards (multiple), Broadway World Award, Black Women In Jazz and was a nominee for Dallas Morning News' 2012 Texan Of The Year. She was selected by the Dallas Observer as one of the City's 30 People to Watch in 2013, and was featured on the cover. Liz is honored to have been selected as a recipient of the 2015 Lunt Fontanne Fellowship by the Ten Chimneys Foundation and attended a week-long intensive workshop with Master Teacher, Phylicia Rashad.
Liz starred as Benjamin Franklin in the National Tour of 1776. She portrayed John Handcock in the Broadway Revival of the musical comedy at The Roundabout Theater. 1776 was directed by Tony Award winner and American Repertory Theater artistic director, Diane Paulus and Jeffrey L. Page. She is a proud member of the Diane and Hal Brierley Resident Acting Company of the Tony Award-winning Dallas Theater Center, and in 2021, she celebrated her 30th year at DTC. She is a member of both professional actor's unions, Actors' Equity Association and Screen Actor's Guild. A dedicated mother and grandmother, Liz thanks her family, both biological and chosen for their support and love! Follow Liz online! Facebook: Ms. Liz Mikel; Instagram: @miz_lyzz; Twitter: @mizlyzz YouTube: Mizlyzz
 
Cheryl L. West’s plays include FANNIE: The Music and Life of Fannie Lou Hamer, Last Stop on Market Street, Shout Sister Shout, Akeelah and the Bee, Pullman Porter Blues, and Jar the Floor. Her plays have been produced in England, off-Broadway, on Broadway (Play On!) and in numerous regional theaters around the country, including Seattle Rep, Arena Stage, Old Globe, The Goodman, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Minneapolis Children’s Theatre,
Seattle Children’s Theatre, Chicago Children’s Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Indiana Rep, Asolo Rep, Merrimack, Arkansas Rep, St. Louis Black Rep, Bay Street Theatre Festival, Syracuse Stage, Cleveland Play House, South Coast Rep, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, and Off‐Broadway’s Manhattan Theatre Club and Second Stage. She has written TV and film projects at Disney, Paramount, MTV Films, Showtime, TNT, HBO, CBS, BET and  the Webby- nominated writer for the original web series Diary of a Single Mom. Ms. West is
currently preparing a revival of Broadway-bound Jar the Floor, and working on commissions for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Minneapolis Children’s Theater,
The Goodman Theatre and Seattle Rep.
 

Ticketing Information

Fannie: The Music & Life of Fannie Lou Hamer begins May 2  – 18, 2024, for three consecutive weekends at the Bishop Arts Theatre Center(215 S Tyler Street, Dallas, TX 75208). Evening performances start at 8 pm with matinees at 3 pm. Tickets for Fannie: The Music & Life of Fannie Lou Hamer can be purchased online at www.bishopartstheatre.org or by calling the box office at 214.948.0716 Monday through Friday 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Prices range from $18 - $50 and seats are general admission. Discounts are available for seniors, students, and groups of 15 or more. Fannie: The Music & Life of Fannie Lou Hamer is presented by The Dallas Foundation and in association with the Dallas Theater Center.  Our 30th Anniversary season is presented by Jean Baptiste “Tad” Adoue III Fund at The Dallas Foundation.
 

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