Articles Tagged With: Najee Banks

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,

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.

El Viaje de Beatriz at MET’s FUN Company

Reviews February 5, 2019 Amanda N. Gunther

Amanda N. Gunther | TheatreBloom

You may not understand every word, but if you listen deeply,
you will understand what they’re trying to see. This is a critical component to
the extraordinary and brilliant piece of children’s theatre being performed on
the Maryland Ensemble Theatre’s FUN Company stage this winter. El Viaje de Beatriz, written by Andrea
Moon, and Directed by Daniel Valentin-Morales, is a bilingual fairytale about
little Beatriz,

Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type at MET’s Fun Company

Reviews September 27, 2018 Amanda N. Gunther

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.

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,