We live in noisy, unruly times. Silence, however, is not always golden in Bess Wohl’s off-Broadway hit Small Mouth Sounds, a play about a silent retreat performed with a minimum of dialogue, now playing at the Maryland Ensemble Theatre (MET) in Frederick, Maryland. Even so, the cast of six charac ters, as directed by Peter Wray, had a lot to say. And the night felt transformative, not only because of the play, which offers plenty of sly shade to the kind of people who seek solace and transformation in things like silent retreats, but also because of downtown Frederick.  The entire downtown has an Off-Broadway, old-time Greenwich Village vibe: foodie restaurant delights, stores like the Curious Iguana Bookstore, and an arts center that houses the Maryland Ensemble Theatre, where you are greeted as if you were a long-lost friend. I could have been at La MaMa in New York City’s East Village 30 years ago, but I was in downtown Frederick. I had to pinch myself, except it was a play, with an attentive audience trying to follow the moves of each of the six actors, so I had to be quiet too. Mallorie Stern (Alicia), Adam R. Adkins (Ned), Willem Rogers (Jan), Lisa Burl (Joan), Julie Herber (Judy), and Fred Fletcher-Jackson (Rodney) in ‘Small Mouth Sounds.’ Photo by Spence Photographics. MET set the tone for the evening with a short pre-show involving breathing exercises led by their partners at Yogamour Healing Arts Studio in Frederick. (If you attend a Yogamour class through March 15, you can get a free ticket to the show.)  The premise of a silent retreat is a clever one: throw a group of mostly strangers together for a week and see what happens.  The play begins with the cast gathering before an unseen retreat leader, the Teacher, who speaks through an overhead voice-of-God microphone, instructing the retreaters on what to expect (“think of this as a vacation from … your … self”). Her over-the-top sincerity soon gives way to sharp commentary on our overconnected world (“Cell phones are not permitted, except in the parking lot. Inside your vehicle. With all doors and windows completely closed.”) The quick switching from comfort to cutting snark was perfectly played by Elisa Rodero and offered some of the funniest moments in the play.  A dramatic confession from Ned, a sad-faced, moping retreat member, also makes the point that not all can go unsaid. His moving monologue is the centerpiece of the entire production. With all the passion and grief and overtelling of a man consumed by life, Ned breaks the silence rule in a scene superbly played by Adam R. Adkins.  Mallorie Stern (Alicia); Willem Rogers (Jan) and Fred Fletcher-Jackson (Rodney); Julie Herber (Judy), in ‘Small Mouth Sounds.’ Photos by Spence Photographics. I missed having the same context delivered directly from the other retreaters. Not having the opportunity to hear directly from these characters forced us to rely on stereotypes — Rodney, a popular yoga practitioner, and Alicia, a tightly wound twenty-something, played credibly by Fred Fletcher-Jackson and Mallorie Stern, seem like types we have seen before. The lack of specificity made their characters one-dimensional, resulting in a play more about superficiality than true connection. Then again, maybe the facile nature of quick-fix human connections was the sly point all along.  Unfortunately, too many moments in this production felt gimmicky, as the actors resorted to mime-like motions and expressions that made the obvious even more obvious; this was especially true in the sexy/tender moments. One wishes that the audience were trusted more with less.  The quietest moments made the most joyful noise about connection and mindfulness. A beautiful scene between Judy (Julie Herber) and Jan, a lost young man, played sweetly by Willem Rogers, a young actor just out of Towson University — one to watch — glowed with warmth and emotion. Another high point also featured Judy, whose relationship with Joan (Lisa Burl), with all its jagged edges, is played out wordlessly. However, no words are needed between these two actors for us to understand all their pain and needs.  With the minimal stage design in the round, Tom Majarov‘s sound design brought forth the woods and lake, and the mosquitoes, making a subtle point that, without the chatter of humans, nature could fill our senses just fine. The lighting designed by Will Heyser-Paone also seamlessly led us through the seven-day retreat as night turned to day to night, and the props, especially the cots by prop designer Lori Boyd, clanked on and off stage, signalling the passage of an almost endless, almost silent week.   Ultimately, this play has a lot to say about our interconnected journeys in these discordant times. Add to that the off-Broadway vibe of an evening out in downtown Frederick, and it’s worth experiencing a play that seeks, however imperfectly, to remind us that we do not need loud, rude words to be civil and decent with one another.   Running Time: One hour and 40 minutes, no intermission. Small Mouth Sounds plays through March 15, 2026, at Maryland Ensemble Theatre‘s Robin Drummond Main Stage, 31 W Patrick Street, Frederick, MD. Tickets are $15–$36, and can be purchased by phone at 301-694-4744, online, or in person at the MET box office, open Tuesday to Thursday, 12 – 6 p.m., Fridays 12 – 4 p.m., and one hour before performances. Pay-What-You-Will discounts are available to students, seniors, and military, starting at $7 per performance, while supplies last. The post A lot goes without saying in ‘Small Mouth Sounds’ at Maryland Ensemble Theatre appeared first on DC Theater Arts. ...read more read less