Review: Cry It Out

Review – Cry It Out, The Savoy, Denver, CO & Dairy Arts Center, Boulder, CO | Curtain Up! | Eric Fitzgerald

In the play Cry It Out, playwright Molly Smith Metzler crafts a backyard battleground where class, identity, and exhaustion collide – not with spectacle, but with the raw intimacy of two lawn chairs and a couple of baby monitors. Currently presented by Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company (BETC), and under the unflinching direction of Candace Orrino, this production is red hot and filled with multiple layers of nuance that reverberate for the brief ninety minutes as we eavesdrop on the ferocity of Metzler’s strong writing.

The Story

Cry It Out centers on two new mothers, Jessie (Noelia Antweiler) and Lina (MacKenzie Beyer), who strike up a friendship during their maternity leaves in suburban Long Island. Over backyard coffee dates, they bond over sleep training, breastfeeding, and the looming return to work. Their dynamic shifts when Mitchell (Marco Alberto Robinson), a neighbor from a wealthier nearby enclave, presents himself asking for a favor involving his wife, Adrienne (Erika Mori), also a new mother. What unfolds is a blatant exploration of class, identity, and the invisible pressures of parenting.

The Cast

Metzler’s play bursts forward from the gate with a naturalistic rhythm and emotional immediacy. Both Antweiler and Beyer meet the script’s demands with layered, deeply human performances, avoiding cliché while inhabiting roles that feel wholly lived in. Antweiler grapples mightily with Jessie’s demons, providing an awareness of what a new mother would be confronted with upon the difficult birth of her first child. As Lina, Beyer pinpoints her matter-of-fact character with a subtle Long Island accent and establishes her as a less privileged mother who must face the reality of her life station. Both actors give performances that galvanize Metzler’s words about parenthood, as they subtly reveal the emerging disparity between classes.     

In the pivotal role of Mitchell, Robinson ignites a fire that tears open the fabric of the play. He is well-meaning and achingly sincere, a man whose attempts at connection are earnest, even as they falter somewhat in translation. Robinson brings a strong presence to a quietly complex character, adding a unique layer to the play’s exploration of parenthood, class, and the emotions they stir up.

Erika Mori’s performance as Adrienne is a masterclass in emotional limitations—she imbues the character with a quiet urgency that makes every pause feel loaded with unsaid truth. In her stillness and subtle fragmentation, Mori doesn’t just act the role; she distills one of the play’s central questions: What does it mean to care when language fails, and intention isn’t enough?

Direction

Director Candace Orrino brings a keen sensitivity to Metzler’s script, capturing its emotional complexity with clarity along with an unmistakable embrace of its humor—generous and deeply human. Indeed, Orrino’s framing of Metzler’s play is undeniably humorous; however, the laughter is punctuated by sudden, inescapable swells of drama that catch the audience off guard and hold them still.  Orrino has assembled a dynamic ensemble of actors who play off each other convincingly, along with a great sense of heightened emotional stakes.

Tina Anderson’s set design leans into restraint and simplicity, offering a minimal environment that foregrounds the performers rather than distracting with visual excess. Riley Anne Martin’s costumes are thoughtfully attuned to character, while Erin Thibodaux’s lighting maintains clarity without drawing attention. While these production elements support the narrative in broad strokes, they fall short of the emotional complexity and tonal nuance brought forward by Metzler’s writing and Orrino’s direction.

Cry It Out, resonantly produced by BETC, is a multi-layered play written in an accessible style that is both appealing and profoundly thought-provoking, eliciting a strong emotional response during the matinee that I attended in Denver. The production has now moved to BETC’s permanent home, the Dairy Arts Center in Boulder, for the remainder of its run through August 24.  Anchored by Candace Orrino’s assured direction and a formidable cast, this emotionally charged ninety-minute production makes the trip to Boulder not just worthwhile—but essential. The questions it raises linger far beyond the final blackout, refusing easy answers.

Curtain Up! | Eric Fitzgerald | August 5, 2025