Articles Tagged With: Julie Herber

Sense & Sensibility at Maryland Ensemble Theatre ???? Spence Photographics

Sense & Sensibility at The Maryland Ensemble Theatre

Reviews September 24, 2024 Amanda N. Gunther Leave a comment

Tis your ambition to be happy? Then come to Maryland Ensemble Theatre as they open up their 2024/2025 main stage season with Kate Hamill’s sprightly adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense & Sensibility. Indeed, the season of MET’s happiness kicks off swimmingly with this exuberantly energetic movement-based comedy, Directed by Gené Fouché, this most agreeable and enjoyable afternoon of quirky comedy meets winsome romance is a delightfully balanced romp of pathos and silliness,

Courtney McLaughlin (left) as Chordata with Tad Janes (center) as Sciurus and Matthew Harris (right) as Sciuridae in The Squirrels at Maryland Ensemble Theatre ???? Meech Creative LLC

The Squirrels at Maryland Ensemble Theatre

Reviews March 30, 2024 Amanda N. Gunther

Our subject tonight?

The Squirrels. Better still— The Squirrels at Maryland Ensemble Theatre as the penultimate production of their 2023/2024 main stage season. Written by Robert Askins (Hand To God) and Directed by Julie Herber…well… buckle up, you discerning patrons of the arts, because this one’s a doozey. Hell— I’ll say it. It’s nuts!

Playwright Robert Askins is wringing audiences in Frederick through the high-octane spin-cycle of this satirical washing machine.

Gillian Shelly (center) as Edna Pontellier and the ensemble of The Awakening with Endangered Species Theatre Project ???? Madeline Reinhold

The Awakening at Endangered Species (Theatre) Project

Reviews April 19, 2023 Amanda N. Gunther

Resolved to never belong to anyone but herself, Edna Pontellier controlled her own destiny.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Picture it. A balmy, breezy, almost tropical evening on Grand Isle. Louisiana Gulf. Cottages. 1890’s. Summertime. Can you feel the sea breeze blowing in? Smell the scent of the water? Can you hear the French Creole dialect running thick like Cajun gumbo through the words that get spoken? You’ll picture it a whole lot better if you slip on over to Endangered Species Theatre Project this April to experience their extraordinary production of Rebecca Chace’s The Awakening.

Craft Town at The Maryland Ensemble Theatre

Reviews April 7, 2023 Amanda N. Gunther

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?

No, Virginia- A Grown-Up Holiday Farce at Maryland Ensemble Theatre

Reviews December 10, 2021 Amanda N. Gunther

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.

Three Little Birds at MET’s Fun Company

Reviews September 3, 2021 Amanda N. Gunther

One love! One heart! Let’s get together and feel alright! Everyone could stand to feel alright right about now. And what better way to do it than by coming out to see the MET Fun Company’s production of Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds? Directed and choregraphed by Ray Hatch, with Musical Direction by Valerie A. Higgs, this six-person ensemble on stage is jammin’! They’re jammin’ and they want you to come jammin’ too!

Full Speed Ahead! Maryland Ensemble Theatre launches their 2021-2022 season, back on stage LIVE!

News July 2, 2021 Amanda N. Gunther

It’s a surreal experience— being in a crowd of enthusiastic, energetic, theatre people after over a year of being isolated from that crazy, amazing, loving bunch of people who have so much to offer to the performing arts community in Frederick. But in minutes of being amid the Maryland Ensemble Theatre 24th season launch gala, it felt as if no time had passed at all, as if just last season this exact thing had happened.

Karli Cole in Midsummer: A Most Rare Vision

Midsummer: A Most Rare Vision at Maryland Ensemble Theatre

Reviews June 18, 2021 Amanda N. Gunther

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,

Circle Mirror Transformation at Maryland Ensemble Theatre

Reviews October 30, 2019 Amanda N. Gunther

Have you ever taken one of those intro to acting classes
where nobody’s really sure they want to be there but they all desperately want
to learn all the secrets behind good acting? Then this show might be for you.
Have you ever taken one of those acting classes where all of the exercises that
are supposed to be revealing all the secrets to good acting feel a bit like the
instructor is trying to unload some of their own personal garbage from
childhood onto the students?

Sweat at Maryland Ensemble Theatre

Reviews September 7, 2019 Amanda N. Gunther

Skilled labor isn’t cheap; cheap labor isn’t skilled. An innocuous
enough statement of truth that might just ruffle the feathers of the pleasantly
situated. But isn’t that art and theater at its core? Comfort the disturbed and
disturb the comfortable? No surprises that politically charged, prescient and
topically relevant drama by two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage
is being produced upon the Maryland Ensemble Theatre stage. Directed by Gené
Fouché, this ensemble-driven drama is laced with humor around the visceral edges
of political upheaval in the town of Reading,

Radium Girls at Maryland Ensemble Theatre

Reviews February 16, 2019 Amanda N. Gunther

Amanda N. Gunther | TheatreBloom

There is so much light in the world. Light from the sun,
light from inside that glows out from the human spirit, there’s all kinds of
light. But what about artificial light that’s natural? The disturbing glow the
illuminates from a diabolically dangerous substance? Radium. Playwright D.W.
Gregory historically fantasizes a dark spot on American history, shining an
incandescent beam of harrowing truth, with dramatic flair, onto historical
events of the shadowy 20th century.

Really Listening: An Interview with Director Daniel Valentin-Morales about El Viaje de Beatriz at MET’s FUN Company

Interviews February 5, 2019 Amanda N. Gunther

Amanda N. Gunther | TheatreBloom

A real family helps each other when they stumble, not kick
each other when they’ve fallen; a paraphrase of just one of the profound
insights found inside Andrea Moon’s El
Viaje de Beatriz or Beatrice’s
Journey, now appearing at the MET FUN Company as a part of their 2018-2019
season. Maryland Ensemble Theatre and its familial branches— like the FUN Company—
uplift this message with great consistency in their work.

Let The Right One In at Maryland Ensemble Theatre

Reviews October 23, 2018 Amanda N. Gunther 1 Comment

While the autumn breezes finally rush in, bringing all the productions of Rocky Horror Show and Deathtrap along with them, The Maryland Ensemble Theatre defies the more conventional approach to the spooky season and instead invites a uniquely chilling entity onto its stage for the month of Halloween and beyond. Let the Right One In, a stage adaptation by Jack Thorne from the Swedish novel & film by John Ajvide Lindqvist,

Noises Off at Cumberland Theatre

Reviews August 21, 2018 Amanda N. Gunther

Sardines! You won’t forget the sardines! Or the boxes. Or the bags. Or the words by the time you get finished with Noises Off at The Cumberland Theatre this summer. Directed by Matt Bannister, this zany, maniacal, and marvelous farce will have you rolling in the aisles with gut-bursting laughter from start to finish. Better than Waiting for Guffman, with twice as much hilarity as any backstage antics that cook up as they do during any theatrical engagement,

1984 at Maryland Ensemble Theatre

Reviews October 26, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

There is a show running in Frederick.

WHAT SHOW. YOU MUST BE PRECISE.

There is a production of George Orwell’s 1984 as adapted to the stage by Michael Gene Sullivan running at a theatre in Frederick.

WHERE. YOU MUST BE PRECISE.

There is a production of George Orwell’s 1984 as adapted to the stage by Michael Gene Sullivan running at The Maryland Ensemble Theatre.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) at Maryland Ensemble Theatre

Reviews September 12, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

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,

Fred’s Diner at Maryland Ensemble Theatre

Reviews June 3, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

Happiness comes only in moments. And to ensure those moments, sometimes drastic action is necessary. Closing out their 2016/2017 mainstage season, the Maryland Ensemble Theatre brings to the stage a rarely produced darkly-driven British comedy. Fred’s Diner, by Penelope Skinner, takes place in an American 1950’s themed diner in present-day Britain just off the major motorway. Everything looks hunky-dory, as the Yanks might say, but upon closer examination, things aren’t always what they seem.

Peter and The Star Catcher at Maryland Ensemble Theatre

Reviews April 17, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther 1 Comment

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,

Top Girls at Maryland Ensemble Theatre

Reviews February 17, 2017 Amanda N. Gunther

If you could sit down to dinner, or better yet a dinner party, with any five influential women in history, who would you choose? Well-behaved women seldom make history, as Laurel Thatcher Ulrich says. Wouldn’t you want to choose radical women, the movers and shakers of their time? Those that simply refused to live the life of a lady and broke through the gender barrier that so often held them in place, wouldn’t those be your choice invitees to a dinner party in a completely absurdist and fictitious dream sequence?

Review: Bunnicula at Maryland Ensemble Theatre’s Fun Company

Reviews September 27, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

There’s nothing like a pet in the house! They keep you safe! They keep you warm! They drain your vegetables of all their color because they’re juice thirst vampires! Wait— what?!? Well, only that last bit if you accidentally sit on a rabbit in a movie theatre while seeing Dracula and decide to take it home. This may be exactly what happens to the Monroe family in the childhood classic story of Bunnicula,

MET Marches On: An Interview with Artistic Director Tad Janes about the 2016/2017 Season at Maryland Ensemble Theatre

Interviews June 8, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

It’s that time of year when all the theatres start making their big announcements for what’s coming to their stages in future seasons! After a roaring successful season of new works, fun shows, area premieres, and much, much more, the Maryland Ensemble Theatre is ready to roll straight into their 2016-2017 season. In a TheatreBloom exclusive interview, we’ve sat down with Artistic Director Tad Janes to talk about the company’s rich history, how they continue to fight the good fight of professional theatre in Frederick and what’s next for them as the new season gets underway.

Review: Superior Donuts at Maryland Ensemble Theatre

Reviews May 28, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Donut cannot change. Donut will always be donut. But the Maryland Ensemble Theatre can change up what’s on their mainstage menu as they close out the 2015/2016 season with Tracy Letts’ Superior Donuts. A shockingly different production from the original company-written rock musical seen just a month ago upon the boards, Superior Donuts, directed by company member Gené Fouché, is a stellar and touching dramedy that lives up to its titular adjectival description in talent,

Interview: It’s All In The Family- An Interview with Oedipus Rox! Co-Creators Thom Huenger and Sarah Shulman

Interviews April 28, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Oedipus! TheatreBloom knows something you don’t know! And here in this exclusive interview with Co-Creators Thom Huenger and Sarah Shulman, we’re going to tell you anyway! We’re going to tell you all about how this electrifying rock opera musical came to exist on the stages of the Maryland Ensemble Theatre and what drove the Greek Tragedy to bleed its veins into the world of musical theatre.

Thank you Thom and Sarah for giving us your time to talk about this exciting project!

Shelly Hierstetter (left) as Cinderella and Daniel Valentin-Morales (right) as Prince Champion in the MET Fun Company production of Cinderella

Review: Cinderella at Maryland Ensemble Theatre’s Fun Company

Reviews April 19, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

True love can be recognized without sight or sound, but you simply must come see and hear the Maryland Ensemble Theatre’s Fun Company production of Cinderella to experience one of the loveliest non-Disney retellings of the classic fairytale. Adapted by Theatricks Music and Meryl Cullom and Directed by Julie Herber with Musical Direction by Jennie Huntoon, this charming performance is spellbinding with its magical characters, dazzling with its vivacious costumes,

Review: Oedipus Rox at Maryland Ensemble Theatre

Reviews April 7, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Oedipus! They know something you don’t know! But they’re going to tell you anyway! A stellar new revolutionary musical is seizing the stage at Maryland Ensemble Theatre this spring, shaking the walls and shocking the soul with one of history’s most brutally revolting Greek tragedies. Oedipus Rox! a new MET original musical production, with Music and Lyrics by Thom Huenger and Book and Lyrics by Sarah Shulman, brings the well-told tale of Oedipus Rex to crackling sizzling life.

Review: Stupid Fucking Bird at Maryland Ensemble Theatre

Reviews February 18, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Do you know what passes for theatre these days? Honestly? How many of you get out of your comfortable living rooms— with your live-streaming Broadway channels on Netflix or the “new musical of the month” live on NBC— and go to the theatre, sit through two to three hours of live performance, and actually take in what you’ve just seen? The Maryland Ensemble Theatre seems to know what’s passing for live theatre and has challenged the standard,

Review: James and The Giant Peach at Maryland Ensemble Theatre

Reviews February 18, 2016 Amanda N. Gunther

Marvelous things! Amazing, incredible, flabbergasting, marvelous things await theatergoers of all ages on the Maryland Ensemble Theatre’s Stage2 Performance Space as their Fun Company proudly presents James and The Giant Peach. Adapted to the stage by David Wood from the imaginative novel by Roald Dahl, this twisty and highly chimerical tale spins a story of a young lad called James and the marvelous things that await him once he encounters the giant peach.

Review: The Gifts of The Magi at Maryland Ensemble Theatre

Reviews December 8, 2015 Amanda N. Gunther 1 Comment

You can’t tell Christmas from the Fourth of July without snow! And the snowflakes are falling on the Maryland Ensemble Theatre’s Main Stage with their musical and magical production of The Gifts of the Magi. Directed by Suzanne Beal with Musical Direction by Alison E. Shafer, this charming production is a perfect reminder of what the true spirit of Christmas is meant to feel like for the holiday season.

Review: Junie B. Jones in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells at MET’s Fun Company

Reviews November 30, 2015 Amanda N. Gunther

Great family-friendly entertainment plus your favorite theatre in Frederick equals the Maryland Ensemble Theatre’s Fun Company holiday production of Junie B. Jones in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells. BOOM! You do the math! That’s right, everyone! It’s that time of year when Junie B. Jones starts her holiday shenanigans with jingle-bell hats, Christmas sing-a-longs and— a burp-in-a-bag? Directed by Julie Herber, Adapted by Allison Gregory, and based on the book by Barbara Park,

Review: Frankenstein at Maryland Ensemble Theatre

Reviews October 24, 2015 Amanda N. Gunther

I saw a figure. Or was it a reflection? A brilliant shimmering glimpse of Mary Shelley’s core essence, captured in theatrical perfection upon the Maryland Ensemble Theatre main stage as autumn brings a new adaptation of Frankenstein into their season. Devised by the ensemble under the riveting Direction of Co-Artistic Director Julie Herber, this new concoction is a striking and tragically beautiful amalgamation of Shelley’s most poignant words of prose.