Cry It OuT
By Molly Smith Metzler
Cry It Out
by Molly Smith Metzler
Directed by Jeremy Lee Cudd
November 4-8, 2026
Campus Black Box Theatre
Director’s Note
I have long been an admirer of Molly Smith Metzler’s writing. I love hanging out with her characters. The relationships in her stories are always so richly drawn, revealing themselves in moments of honesty and humor that pull me in close. She has a special sensitivity to the way socioeconomic class expresses in the language and behavior of her characters which provides a beautiful insight to her audience about the divided realities we live in without becoming preachy or reductive.
I can claim little to no personal knowledge over the subject matter of this play, but it moves me deeply. Fortunately, I have colleagues and friends who have been generous with their own stories of motherhood.
We are also lucky to have a wonderful interview of the writer by another playwright, Dominique Morisseau. Rather than a traditional director’s note sharing my ideas behind this production, I have included five quotes pulled from this interview that have served as my guiding light. There is a link below if you would like to read the entire interview.
— Jeremy Lee Cudd
Metzler on Cry It Out:
“New parenthood is the perfect lens through which to examine socioeconomics.”
“It’s terrifying and you can cry out for help all you want, but no one is coming to your side with answers. You have to figure it out on your own.”
“...you need to socialize the baby, and you need the company to survive. So for the first time in decades, you’re...trying to make a new friend.”
“The equalizer is friendship.”
“The play will make people uncomfortable. How we raise our children is a triggering topic, as is a woman’s role in the home. There’s a cloud of sexism around these issues. But that doesn’t mean we can apologize for the play. We can’t mute or alter this play to protect the people who won’t go on the ride. Our job is to tell it raw and ugly, like it really is.”