This is a trailer created from scenes from the first production of Dark River: The Fannie Lou Hamer Story, which was done in 2009 by Oakland Opera Theater in Oakland, CA. Directed by Darryl Jones and conducted by Deirdre McClure.
The two videos below are excerpts from the dress rehearsal of the production done with the Mount Holyoke Symphony Orchestra in South Hadley, MA in 2014. Directed by Darryl Jones and conducted by Tian Hui Ng.
In this scene from Act 1, Marlowe, the owner of the plantation where Fannie Lou Hamer lives with her family, tells her that she must leave the plantation unless she withdraws her voter registration. Fannie Lou Hamer is performed by Andrea Chinedu Nwoke. Marlowe is performed by Matt Chastain.
In this scene from Act Two, Fannie Lou Hamer urges the delegates from the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party to refuse an offer they have received from Vice President Hubert Humphrey. He has offered to seat two delegates instead of agreeing to seat the whole delegation. Fannie Lou Hamer is performed by Andrea Chinedu Nwoke. The other cast members In this scene are Farah Darliette, Melynda Davis, Ernest Jackson, Robert King, Synthia Pullum, Aaron Reeder, Craig Simonetti, Mauri Tetreault, and Miguel Angel Vasquez.