Something to See: Words by Fanny Crosby

Short Review: Words by Fanny Crosby

by Santiago Rodriguez

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The play Words by Fanny Crosby shows how powerful words can be and how poetry can become something special and unique if it’s made with devotion.

The play begins powerfully with a scene of women being imprisoned. Their voices singing during this scene was very moving. There was also comedy in the scene depicting Fanny Crosby in her living room writing the lyrics for the melody that William Doane composed; he was in a hurry while she was taking her time.

The highlight of the play was the interview by the newspaper reporter. Even though she was rude, she was perfect way to get Fanny to tell her stories. It was really interesting to see every single aspect of Fanny’s life, starting from when she was a blind child who just wanted to play like the other children but forbidden by her grandma. We discover that she wrote her first poem at the age of 8, see her treatment by her professor at the Institute for the Blind who banned her from writing poetry for 3 months in order to get her to do something else only to see her talent and finally help her with her poems. We also see how she met the love of her life, whom was kept secret.

It was beautiful to see how she always wanted to help those in need and how grateful she was to God, thanking him at every moment, and making sure everybody knew her greatness was from Him.

The acting was amazing. Everyone was very professional, and it felt very real. If I have to highlight the acting of one group, it would be the children. Their professionalism was surprising in children of that age.

In conclusion, this play had everything: storytelling, comedy, sadness, hope, and surprise. Everyone there seemed to have a good time.

Words of Fanny Crosby starred:

Jalynn Black, Alivia White, Giana Curasi, Thomas Floyd, Lily-Ann Smith, Noah Harrington, and Johnathon Hitt. It was directed by Christi Mitchell.