I was extremely surprised to hear that New York-based actor Amanda Morris, who plays Amali, did not play the role during the workshop. The part seems to be written just for her. It’s a tricky role. Amali is loquacious, hyper-intelligent and often verbose, but in a 12-year-old way, so large swathes of her dialogue are driven really only by her own need to be heard. It’s as though she’s carving out her space in the world word by word to anyone who will listen. The way Morris plays her though, has the audience hanging onto her every word 

“Amanda Morris* (Amali) handles the transitions in emotion and thought, the different fragments of ideas, with fluid naturalism. She’s real and she feels like a twelve-year-old. Morris comes across precocious and, even in her most morbid obsessions, innocent and naive.”

“As Amali, Morris effectively anchors the play. Normally, I have an allergic reaction to adult actors playing children, but Morris is completely convincing in the role — fifteen minutes in, you’ll forget that you’re not watching an actual 12-year-old.”

"The amazing Amanda Morris makes an equally memorable local debut as Walter Lee’s sister, Beneatha. In an average production, Ms. Morris would have stolen the show; even surrounded by wonderfully talented co-stars on the Lyric stage, she still nearly does so. She can transition from being hilariously funny to deadly earnest in a New York minute; you can’t take your eyes off her." 

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"Mama’s firecracker daughter, Beneatha, played by Jamaican native Amanda Morris, is so reminiscent of today’s young people it made me laugh. She made the whole audience laugh–many times. Morris is so comfortable in Benny’s skin, it’s astounding. She is effectively the poster woman for Go Big or Go Home. Sharp tongued, filled with passion and causes a-plenty, Beneatha represents the dream of moving forward in a way that Mama can’t even imagine. I interviewed Morris after the show and she is a delightful individual who was so able to identify with her character..."

Morris as Beneatha is strong and proud as she wrestles with what it means to be an African American woman.