They come across my inbox like they always do; a cool drink of water— code for ‘new play’— just asking to be looked over. Not in distress or nothing, see? These ‘new works’ they hold their own. But I wouldn’t be a very good T.I. if I didn’t give it a once over, now would I. T.I.? What’s that? You don’t know? Theatrical Investigator. That’s me— Amanda Gunther, T.I. – and this new one— Craft Town?
Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Angels in America, was ambitious in 1993, taking on difficult subject matter, and the Maryland Ensemble Theatre is ambitious to take on such a challenging production. ‘Set in the mid-1980s amid the AIDS crisis and the Regan administration, the characters struggle with life and death, love and sex, heaven and hell’*. Originally intended for a season three years ago but sidelined by COVID, Angels now marks the MET’s 150th production overall and falls during its 25th anniversary,
Up on the housetop, reindeer paws— out jumps good ol’ Santa Claus. And Sandy Claws! And Odin!? Why, yes, Virginia! There is— someone on your roof— or something— heck— it could even be— THUNDERSNOW! Put on your believing hat and your holiday hat and wind your way on over to the Maryland Ensemble Theatre this December season for a MET original— No, Virginia— A Grown-Up Holiday Farce. Written by company member J.D.
I have had a most rare vision. I have had a dream, past the wit of man to say that indeed dreams— rare visions or not— do come true; live theatre with in-person audiences have returned to us once more. The Maryland Ensemble Theatre is at their finest in bringing a most peculiar, wondrous and intriguing theatrical endeavor to those of us who have waited so long to return to the theatre. Directed by Julie Herber,
Old MacDonald had a farm— wait— no…that’s not quite right. Oh! I know! The MET Fun Company had a farm— E-I-E-I-O! And on this farm they had some cows! E-I-E-I-O! While there won’t be any song quite like that one featured in Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type at the MET Fun Company production, rest assured there will be plenty of singing and dancing all throughout the production, which is geared toward younger audiences.
Most people ain’t people. Because people strive to treat each other with dignity and respect. Of course, that was the point Arthur Miller might have been trying to make when he scribbled down A View From the Bridge. Horrifically relevant and strikingly topical in today’s political climate, this intense family-driven drama is an exacting fit for the style of ensemble performance work which the Maryland Ensemble Theatre prides themselves on and does exceedingly well.
What ho, Horatio! It is the east— west— Frederick! It is the MET! Alas, poor Shakespeare, I knew him, readers! And you thought you did too, until you ventured to Maryland Ensemble Theatre for the opening of their 2017/2018 season! With preeminence in stage chicanery, the MET invites you to sit back, unplug your brains, and enjoy three ridiculous men attempting to cover 38 plays, 1,122 roles, and 154 sonnets all in about two hours,
To have faith is to have wings. Have faith that you’ll absolutely love what’s happening on the Maryland Ensemble Theatre’s main stage this spring and you’ll find yourself sprouting wings that will fly you right into downtown historic Frederick for their outstanding production of Peter and The Star Catcher. Based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, written by Rick Elice with Music by Wayne Barker, this marvelously mesmerizing tale is the official beginning of how the boy who wouldn’t grow up,
There is some mythical notion that once children grow up and become adults that there is an onus to maintain their familial relationships. Perhaps it’s because it is believed that we are made out of the same stuff as the stars, that very same dust which twinkles billions of light years away from above. Or perhaps it’s more based in the reality that the elders do die and the responsibility of kinship upkeep passes down from generation to generation.