MET Announces THE ALL NEW GRAND OLE HEE HAW HOOTENANNY HOEDOWN JAMBOREE

Maryland Ensemble Theatre (MET) will present an original ensemble created production for the Fredneck in all of us, The All New Grand Ole Hee Haw Hootenanny Hoedown Jamboree.  "The title says it all, the Jamboree is sure to have you busting a gut, tapping your toes, singing along and pulling the straw from your teeth.  The show will feature hilarious original sketches and a revolving roster of guest artists and musical acts." Directed by MET Artistic Director Tad Janes and Associate Artistic Directors Gené Fouché and Julie Herber, the show runs from May 10 through June 3 every Thursday through Sunday at the MET, located in the historic FSK hotel at 31 W Patrick Street.  

"We've been talking about creating a 'real live variety show' for a while and I think Gené hit on the idea of one that had the country-Hee Haw-Opry feel to it," said Artistic Director Tad Janes.  "So the idea was out there.  In February I got together a group of ensemble members that were interested in the project.  At that time, we watched television shows like Hee Haw, Laugh In, Carol Burnette, watched Youtube videos ofThe Grand Ole Opry and Ed Sullivan.  I wrote down the 'map' of a Hee Haw show, meaning their format: start with a song, go to three sketches, another song, comedy song, etc.   We used that format as an influence on our 'mapping' of the show.  And we started writing sketches and original songs.  Each of the early rehearsals were workshops on sketch development, writing exercises and brainstorming, some of which will end up on stage, most thrown out. Some were just used as inspiration to go home and write new sketches."