Flagler College Theatre Arts presents “Cry it Out,” a play examining the modern experience of mother

JACKSONVILLE, Fla — Flagler College Theatre Arts department is excited to present its first spring production “Cry it Out” from Feb. 22 through 25 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 26 at 2 p.m. The play will be held in Lewis Auditorium, free for students, faculty, and staff.

If you’ve seen the Netflix mini-series “Maid,” you’ll want to catch “Cry it Out,” both of which are written by Molly Smith Metzler. Published in 2017, this play is a dark comedy dissecting the tribulations of motherhood, its complexities, and its effect on women’s identity.

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The play revolves around a budding friendship between two young mothers, Jessie, and Lena. With a short list of characters, the student cast and crew of “Cry it Out” is small, something Director Christine Fogarty said has made the experience more enjoyable.

“It has been absolutely delightful,” Fogarty said. “I’m working with four actors who take their craft and their work very seriously. The bond between them is incredible.”

Cathryn Thames plays Jessie, a career woman turned full-time mother, and Tracy Lukach plays Lena, a funky Long Island mom with whom Jessie has little in common aside from their shared experience in motherhood.

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“Jessie was a corporate lawyer in New York City, she had a very glamorous life,” Fogarty said. “Now she sits in dirty yoga pants, with breast milk pooled all over her shoulders. She’s got a newborn and is trying to figure out this new identity.”

Jessie and Lena meet in a local Stop N’ Shop. Fogarty said the duo begin to use the store as an escape from their tiring routines.

“They find one another, and a fast friendship is born,” she said. “It’s just true blue. It’s actually a friendship that I think all of us want to have. It’s authentic.”

This dynamic is quickly interrupted when another new mother in the neighborhood, Adrienne, is introduced to their lives. Sarah Richardson plays this protagonist role, a woman struggling to cope with the realities of her new motherhood. Adrienne’s concerned husband, Mitchell, is played by Jaden Stewart.

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“The story takes a turn and it’s really exciting to witness,” Fogarty said.

In addition to the cast of four, Alicia Perez is the stage manager and Charles Pensynski is the assistant director. The student actors took some time to study the intricacies of their characters and develop their personalities on stage.

Fogarty said that it was initially difficult for the students to fully embrace characters as they were grappling with this foreign experience of motherhood. But she was able to help guide them in their character studies by encouraging them to isolate similar experiences they may have had with their pets or own mothers.

“It’s been really funny because we’ve been talking about our animals, you know, their love for their cats, their love for their dogs,” she said. “And they’ve been talking about their experience with their own moms, having conversations with them, and interviewing them to actually understand what they went through.”

If you need to request an accommodation due to a disability in order to provide reasonable access or participation, please contact the Director of the Disability Resource Center, Phil Pownall at Ppownall@flagler.edu. If you are deaf or hard of hearing and need to request an ASL interpreter for full participation in an event, please contact the Coordinator of Interpreters and Accommodations, Heather Corry at Hcorry@flagler.edu.

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