Interview: Marisa Smith and SAMANTHA INSIDE OUT at NJ Rep

New Jersey Repertory Company (NJ Rep) will launch its 2026 Mainstage Season with the world premiere of Marisa Smith's Samantha Inside Out, running from February 19 through March 15, 2026, at the Lumia Theater in Long Branch. Opening night will be February 21, 2026.

Led by Artistic Director SuzAnne Barabas and Executive Producer Gabor Barabas, the 2026 season continues NJ Rep’s legacy of developing bold new work that speaks directly to the moment. The season opens with a sharp, funny, and deeply human exploration of reinvention, identity, and the courage it takes to finally say the quiet parts out loud.

Samantha is a woman of a certain age who has had it with her life as it is currently arranged. A high school English teacher, the mother of grown children, and the wife of a cruel, pompous, philandering college professor, she finds herself pushed past her breaking point after a humiliating encounter at a party. Fleeing the scene, Samantha lands unexpectedly in the host’s daughter’s bedroom, where an evening of self-pity turns into something far more revealing. As the walls come down, Samantha opens up, excavating long-buried secrets and taking stock of the emotional wreckage she has carefully stepped around for years.

Broadwayworld had the pleasure of interviewing Marisa Smith.  She gave us fascinating insights into her career and the upcoming show at NJ Rep.

What is the very first piece you ever had published?

When I was fourteen, I won a poetry competition in American Girl Magazine! I won a hundred dollars and was thrilled. 

Can you tell us a little about your training as a writer?

I didn't have any formal training as a writer beyond high school and college. I didn't go to grad school. 

We know that writers are avid readers. We'd love a few recommendations of your favorite books.

This is an impossible question! I could go on for pages.  I tend  to fall in love with writers and then read their entire output. Right now I love Claire Keegan and Jhumpa Lahiri and am reading everything they wrote...and I'm fascinated by Rachel Cusk at the moment. Other writers I've devoured in the past: John Updike, Ian MacEwan, John le Carre, P.D James, C.S Lewis, Chekhov's short stories. All time favorite books include: A Wrinkle in Time, Anna Karenina, Madame Bovary. 

You have impressive and varied credits as a playwright, screenwriter, and publisher.  How do these different roles in your career complement each other? 

The different hats I wear tend to feed and inspire one another and all flow into what (hopefully) is a creative river!

What advice can you lend to people who are interested in a creative writing career? 

Read, read and read more. Francine Prose's book, Reading Like a Writer is a fantastic resource.  Try and write every day, even if it's for a short period, and if you're  stuck tell yourself to write the worst version of whatever you're working on and don't judge it. Prepare to hate a lot of what comes out but think of it like a treasure hunt and mine the good stuff.  As for a career, just keep at it and know that you'll experience a great deal of rejection.  If you do it because you must, good things will happen 

What inspired you to craft your play Samantha Inside Out.

The play began as a 10 minute play and I was encouraged to turn it into a full length play by a few other writers, chief among them, the wonderful director and playwright,  Theresa Rebeck.  Theresa has been an inspiration and a mentor to me for many years and the first professional writer who told me I was a playwright after I sent her my first play.   There were a variety of inspirations for the piece; observing women's lives over the course of many years, my own life ( although the play is not strictly autobiographical) and probably my anger about the modern world and how time speeds up with every year. 

How do you like working with New Jersey Repertory Company?

This is my third full length play with the Rep and they are, quite simply, the best. I love working with the same designers and staff that I have known before and it feels like a real theater company in the true, kind of old school sense of the word. The Rep has a  very inspiring, professional atmosphere that feels familial. It's a very special and magical place where the play's the thing and everyone loves what they are doing. 

World premieres are so exciting.  What would you like audiences to know about the show?

Just come and meet Samantha and have a great time. The actress playing Samantha, Elizabeth  Heflin, is a playwright's dream. She's very funny and loveable and she will surprise you on stage and take you through a range of emotions. 

Can you share with us any of your future plans?

Ummm, I'm gonna keep writing and hopefully I'll  keep getting productions-- which is a great way to hold back the tide of time!!! I may go back and take piano lessons because I don't have many regrets in life but one of them is that I quit piano when I was a teenager. 

Anything else, absolutely anything you want BWW NJ readers to know.

Please take your kids and grandkids to the theater. We have to create the next audience and the theater is crucial for humanity ( I'm not being hyperbolic) in our increasingly tech driven world.

To learn more about Marisa Smith, visit her websites at marisasmithplaywright.com and smithandkraus.com.

New Jersey Repertory Company's Lumia Theatre is located at 179 Broadway
Long Branch, NJ 07740.  There is plenty of convenient free parking in the rear of the theatre. Subscriptions and single tickets for the 2026 Season are now on sale. For updates, tickets, and special events, visit www.njrep.org or call 732-229-3166. Samantha Inside Out will play Thursday, at 7 PM, Friday & Saturday at 2 PM and 7 PM and Sunday at 2 PM.

Photo Credit:  Joe Henson