“CRY IT OUT” EXPLORES THE PANGS AND JOYS OF MOTHERHOOD

Motherhood conjures up memories of counting ten precious fingers and toes, hugging powder scented babies, changing countless diapers, sleepless nights and adjusting to life with a miraculous addition to your family. This ode to moms “Cry It Out” by Molly Smith Metzler takes us literally out of the warm comforting womb and into the realities of birth.  

Hartford Stage is stuffing a diaper bag with all the essentials until Sunday, November 17 for this intimate look inside the realities of parenthood.

Two new moms, with no one but their babies to coo to, meet over melons at Stop and Shop.  Their instant recognition of need for support brings them to their shared backyard for more than friendship, essentially a sisterhood.  Evelyn Spahr’s sassy Lina with her frazzled home life and economical needs is a wonderful contrast to Rachel Spencer Hewitt’s privileged lawyer/mom Jessie, yet the two snap together faster than a size infant onesie.

Jessie had a traumatic time at delivery that makes going back to the corporate world virtually impossible. How can she leave her miracle child?  Lina, for all her smart wit, is terrified to leave her Max with her almost mother-in-law who drinks boxes of wine and lies about it.  The raw truth is she has no choice financially.

Enter into the backyard koffee klatch Erin Gann’s Mitchell who literally lives above them on a cliff of wealthy homes.  His wife, Caroline Kinsolving’s Adrienne, is a successful jewelry designer who seems to be having great difficulty bonding emotionally to motherhood.

Molly Smith Metzler writes from personal experience as a new mom so you will identify with many of the issues.  The title refers to the practice of letting babies “cry it out” when put to sleep. Experienced mom Rachel Alderman uses a knowing hand to direct this charming and chaotic time for new parents.

 For tickets ($25 and up), call Hartford Stage, 50 Church Street, Hartford at 860-527-5151 or go online to www.hartfordstage.org.  Performances are Tuesday, Wednesday,  Thursday and Sunday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. 

Come witness the unbelievable events that make life topsy turvy when a new little being invades your life and your heart.

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