Review: Metzler's CRY IT OUT Engagingly Traverses the Many Challenges of Motherhood

Sharply written dialogue and an engaging story as relevant as any you are likely to see onstage nowadays are the hallmarks of Molly Smith Metzler's Cry It Out, now onstage through August 18 at Nashville's Darkhorse Theater in a superbly acted production from SistaStyle Productions and Three in a Tree Productions.

Directed by Nashville theater newcomer Courtney Coppa, Metzler's sometimes riotously funny, oftentimes surprising and always entertaining play focuses on the lives of young mothers Jessie and Lina - played with subtlety and conviction by Molly Breen (in her best onstage role to date) and Mary McCallum (the prodigious playwright and producer makes a winning return to the boards) - as they encounter the challenges of new motherhood at the same time they embark upon a new friendship.

Metzler's script rings true, which is not unexpected considering her career includes writing stints on both Orange in the New Black and Casual, and her skillful plotting and razor-sharp dialogue contribute greatly to the production's overall success, brought to life by a quartet of capable Nashville actors.

Next door neighbors on Long Island, Jessie and Lina are brought together by the shared bon homie of new motherhood, sharing the details of their lives as they get to know each other, creating a world that is totally accessible to audiences whether they be parents - or not. Metzler's dialogue is genuine and spot on and the characters of Jessie and Lina are finely crafted: each woman is fully realized from her very first moment onstage. Thanks to Breen and McCallum, Jessie and Lina are intensely likable and relatable, and the two women, of both the fictional and real-life variety, are always watchable and believable, their exploits as new mothers struggling to balance everything at once are heartfelt and completely accessible.

Jessie is a corporate attorney on maternity leave, hoping to convince her husband to support her in the decision to become a stay-at-home mom lest she lose out on the many adventures that lie ahead for her daughter. Lina is a classic working mom, dreading the first day back at her job as a hospital in-take clerk and the ensuing conundrum of providing daycare for her equally beloved baby boy. As we get to know Jessie and Lina, our interest in them grows; as we learn more about their backgrounds and their extended families, we might even recognize people from our own lives among the varied personalities that populate their fictional lives.

To be honest, Breen has never been better: Her performance as Jessie is genuinely engaging as audience members are drawn deeper into her world. As we learn more and more about Jessie, the terror of a delivery suddenly gone wrong and her heartfelt desire to raise her child on her own terms, we see Breen, herself a mom in real life, dig deeper to pay tribute to all those women before or since who have fought for equity in their lives, whether in the home or the workplace.

McCallum plays Lina with a fierceness that underscores her every scene with authenticity - whether she is describing a particularly colorful encounter with a UPS delivery man, railing about a family member whose alcoholism may harm her son or expressing eloquently her dread of returning to work.

Nettie Kraft and Christopher Bosen, as an affluent couple who live in the toniest suburb of their Long Island enclave, provide a sharp counterpoint to the middle-class realities represented by the characters of Jessie and Lina. Kraft plays the initially off-putting Adrienne - a well-known jewelry designer who is seemingly indifferent to her newborn daughter - with a sense of entitlement that comes with her station in life, but she artfully manages to reveal the various layers of Adrienne's personality that mask a much deeper mother and child connection.

Bosen, as her husband Mitchell (a successful businessman in his own right), approaches Jessie and Lina, imploring the pair to welcome his wife into their daily coffee klatch in hopes of nurturing Adrienne to become a hands-on mom. Bosen plays Mitchell's social ineptitude with some grace, although he manages to portray the man's misconceptions about motherhood and friendship with equal dexterity.

Throughout Metzler's one-act play (which runs one hour and 45 minutes, give or take), the action moves along at a strong pace, ensuring that every audience member remains riveted to the action playing out onstage, allowing the stories to ring as true to them as their own lives and encouraging them to pause in their own hectic schedules to stop and smell the head of a small child to be reminded of the joy, the confusion, the sheer craziness and the complete exhilaration of guiding a new life into the world.

Cry It Out may be about new parents, but whether you've had that experience or not, you'll recognize that it's really just about life itself.

Cry It Out. By Molly Smith Metzler. Directed by Courtney Coppa. Presented by SistaStyle Productions and Three in a Tree Productions. At Darkhorse Theater, 4610 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. Through August 18. For details, go to www.cryitoutnashville.com. Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes (with no intermission).

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