Cry It Out, Molly Smith Metzler’s ode to modern-day motherhood, brings the laughs to Hartford Stage in October   

HARTFORD, CT — September 17, 2019 — Cry It Out, Molly Smith Metzler’s ode to modern-day motherhood, brings the laughs while taking an honest look at the power of female friendship and the effect social class has on parenthood in America. Cry It Out runs Thursday, October 24, through Sunday, November 17. Hartford Stage Artistic Associate Rachel Alderman will direct.

“Molly Smith Metzler explores the chaos, loneliness and sporadic joys of the first three months of new parenthood with raw wit and humor,” Alderman said. “As the mother of two young boys, Cry It Out speaks directly to my sleep-deprived heart.”

Metzler based Cry It Out on her own experiences as a new mother. The play premiered in 2017 at the Humana Festival of New American Plays. Last year, Metzler received a Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Citation.

Cry It Out has been a hit with audiences across the country. Boston’s Arts Fuse calls Cry It Out “a well-done dramedy that suggests we try harder to let life’s sweet moments linger.” The Los Angeles Times noted the play “offers in-depth insights and raises issues that ring true.”

Metzler’s work (Elemeno Pea, The May Queen, Carve, Close Up Space and Training Wisteria) has been produced at Manhattan Theatre Club, The Kennedy Center, The O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, and the Geva Theatre Center, among others. She is the recipient of the Lecomte du Nouy Prize from Lincoln Center and the Mark Twain Prize for Comic Writing. Metzler has written episodes of Casual (Hulu), Orange Is the New Black (Netflix), Codes of Conduct (HBO) and Shameless (Showtime). She is currently writing the screenplay adaptation of Ali Benjamin’s award-winning young adult novel, The Thing about Jellyfish.

Alderman is Artistic Associate at Hartford Stage and directs the annual holiday favorite, A Christmas Carol–A Ghost Story of Christmas. She has also served as associate director to Darko Tresnjak on the world premiere of The Flamingo Kid at Hartford Stage and to Michael Wilson on productions at Hartford Stage, Huntington Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, The Alley Theatre and The Old Globe. A founding member of the award-winning A Broken Umbrella Theatre in New Haven, Alderman has produced, written, performed in and/or directed a dozen intergenerational new works with the ensemble for the past decade. Her other recent directorial credits include the new musical Gross Domestic Product by Julia Rosenblatt for Hartbeat Ensemble and Stories of a New America by Aaron Jafferis for Collective Consciousness Theatre in collaboration with Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services (IRIS).  

The cast of Cry It Out includes Erin Gann, Caroline Kinsolving, Evelyn Spahr and Rachel Spencer-Hewitt.

Erin Gann’s (Mitchell) appeared in the critically-acclaimed film The Hurt Locker. His Off-Broadway credits include I’m Not the Stranger You Think I Am and Ping Pong. He has appeared regionally in Translations (Studio Theatre) and Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare Theatre Company). Gann has also guest-starred on Blue Bloods and Law & Order. 

Caroline Kinsolving (Adrienne) has appeared in Off-Broadway productions of Word Play and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Her regional credits include Venus in Fur (San Diego Repertory Theatre) and Twelfth Night (The Old Globe). Kinsolving has guest-starred on Medium, Criminal Minds, and Cold Case. She is the founder of Theatre for Good, a nonprofit which benefits local causes.

Evelyn Spahr (Lina) portrayed Katherine and the Boy in Henry V at Hartford Stage last season. She appeared in the Off-Broadway production of Light Shining in Buckinghamshire and regionally in Richard III at the Shakespeare Theatre Company. She has also performed in the national tour for the documentary play, Remarkably Normal. 

Rachel Spencer-Hewitt (Jessie) appeared on Broadway in King Charles III and Off-Broadway in Peter and the Starcatcher. Her regional credits include All's Well That Ends Well (Sacramento Theatre Company) and the musical Fly by Night (TheatreWorks/Palo Alto). Spencer-Hewitt is the founder of the Parent Artist Advocacy League (PAAL) for the Performing Arts, a national network and resource hub designed to break down barriers and stigmas surrounding parenthood in the theatre arts.

Cry It Out’s creative team includes Scenic Designer Kristen Robinson (Nora, Westport Country Playhouse); Costume Designer Blair Gulledge (A Lesson from Aloes, Hartford Stage); Lighting Designer Matthew Richards (The Engagement Party, Hartford Stage); and Sound Designer Karin Graybash (Detroit ’67, Hartford Stage).

Kelly Hardy (Anastasia and A Christmas Carol, Hartford Stage) is the Stage Manager, assisted by Chandalae Nyswonger (Anastasia, Hartford Stage).