Cry It Out at Attic Salt Theatre Co.
Molly Smith Metzler’s Cry It Out could easily have been called Four Women, even with Nina Simone laying claim to that title. But its actual name lends an extra emotional resonance to an honest, powerful and downright irresistible dramedy.
Attic Salt Theater Co.’s first production staged in the round confronts important topics like making friends after having children, the prospect of returning to work, postpartum depression, and the trouble with in-laws, but does so in naturalistic ways that render nearly all of the play’s moments wholly authentic.
As the theatergoers witness new mothers and neighbors Lina (Mikhale Sherrill) and Jessie (Mash Hes) break the proverbial ice over coffee on swings and child-sized plastic furniture between their Port Washington, Long Island houses, we viewers do so from three sides that surround the action. From those unusual vantage points, one can’t help but notice our fellow audience members, especially those directly across, creating a neighborhood or Community Watch feel that’s equally unsettling and unifying.
Thanks to the voyeuristic staging, Betsy Puckett’s performance-centric direction, Rachel Cort’s subtle yet effective lighting design, and the charming, relatable rapport between Sherrill and Hes, a sense of protectiveness for these two young women also develops. That defensiveness intensifies as the newfound relationship — one that’s important for each of them in different, compelling ways — is invaded by Mitch (Carin Metzger), a fellow new mom who lives on an overlooking hill, has noticed the pair’s camaraderie, and requests that her wife Adrienne (Ariel Casale) join them.
While Adrienne’s resistance to this mandatory playdate is understandable, it’s difficult to buy some of her later actions, including her apparent misunderstanding of parental responsibilities. Yet Casale delivers them with a fierceness that earned the show’s lone spontaneous, mid-show round of applause and shouts of “Bravo!” at its opening weekend, Sunday matinee performance.
The fallout from these encounters, coupled with other changes as the weeks pass, shift the play’s tone from largely comedic to something far more serious, pushing Sherrill and Hes to show their immense range. And though the agents who interrupt their bliss offer fewer moments of levity, Metzger and Casale nail their assignments and incite the writing’s intended emotions through their own committed performances.
Perhaps the biggest compliment this production of Cry It Out can receive is that it makes theatergoers want to see what happens next with these characters — specifically played by this cast. But even if a sequel never arises, the memory of this inspired synthesis of talent will certainly linger with those who experience it.
Cry It Out runs through Sunday, Sept. 25, at Attic Salt Theatre Arts Space. For details and tickets, visit atticsalt.org.
(Photo by Rodney Smith/Tempus Fugit Design)
