First Reads: Cry It Out by Molly Smith Metzler

First Reads is a series of staged readings produced in partnership with Missoula Public Library.
Four months ago, Jessie was a corporate lawyer with a glamorous Manhattan life. Today, she is in dirty yoga pants, covered in breast milk, trying to comfort a screaming newborn. So when she spies a fellow new mom and neighbor, Lina, at the local Stop & Shop, she vaults over the cantaloupe to introduce herself. The two moms agree to meet for coffee during naptime in the sweet spot behind their adjoining yards where both their baby monitors get reception, and a fast friendship is born.
A comedy with dark edges, Cry It Out takes an honest look at the absurdities of being home with a baby, the power of female friendship, the dilemma of going back to work, and the effect class has on parenthood in America.
Molly Smith Metzler is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter from Kingston, N.Y. She is the creator and showrunner of the limited series Maid (based on the memoir of the same name by Missoula-based writer Stephanie Land), which debuted on Netflix in October 2021 and spent 13 weeks on the top-10 list, viewed by more than 67 million households.
As a playwright, Metzler’s plays, including Cry it Out, Elemeno Pea, The May Queen, Carve, Close Up Space and Training Wisteria, have been produced at Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC), Humana Festival/Actors Theatre of Louisville, South Coast Repertory, Northlight Theatre, Studio Theatre (DC), Detroit Public Theatre, City Theatre (Pittsburg), Geva Theatre Center, Chautauqua Theater Company and many more.