It's Thursday, and Midday theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck is back with another of her weekly reviews of the regional stage. Today, she spotlights the late Sam Shepard's 1978 play, Curse of the Starving Class, and the new production by Maryland Ensemble Theatre in Frederick.Shepard's dark comedy about the elusiveness of the American dream is set in a farmhouse in the American West. The Tate family is struggling to survive, and connect with each other, in a harsh and challenging world that -- 40 years after Shepard penned it -- still resonates with our troubled times.Peter Wray directs the play, which stars Julie Herber as Ella, Sean Byrne as Wesley, Karli Cole as Emma, Tad Janes as Weston, J.D. Sivert as Taylor, Jack Evans as Ellis and Steve Custer as Malcolm.Curse of the Starving Class is at Maryland Ensemble Theatre in Frederick until April 28th.