Cast Set For WAM Theatre's CRY IT OUT

WAM Theatre has announced casting for the first reading in their 2025 Fresh Takes Play Reading Series: Cry it Out by Molly Smith Metzler (The May Queen, Netflix's Maid) directed by Molly Merrihew (The Flora and Fauna, Water By The Spoonful). Kicking off Mother's Month, the production will run at Hot Plate Brewing Co. in Pittsfield, MA on Sunday, May 4 at 2:00 PM & 7:00 PM. Tickets are now on sale.

Artistic Director Genée Coreno shared about the production, "The postpartum period is one of the most critical times for parents to receive the support they need—from friends, family, and our healthcare system at large. This is when both mother, parent, and baby need to feel our presence the most - sadly, it is the period where we are most vulnerable to loss. Molly Smith Metzler's Cry It Out beautifully captures this experience with humor, honesty, and heart.”

“We are thrilled to kick off WAM Theatre's Fresh Takes Play Reading Series with this powerful piece, featuring a phenomenal cast—Kristen Moriarty, Caroline Festa, Marcus Kearns, and Zoë Laiz—who not only bring immense talent to the stage but also deep personal connection as parents, caregivers and/or artist-advocates themselves,” continued Coreno. “Their commitment to this story runs deep, and we can't wait to share it with our audience."

WAM Theatre is excited for Hot Plate Brewing Co. to be the home for the 2025 Fresh Takes Play Reading Series. Sarah Real, Owner and Head Brewster of Hot Plate Brewing Co., remarked, “As a company, our values are craft, community, and intentionality, and we often try to collaborate with organizations and individuals that share all or some of these values, but rarely do all of these elements align as perfectly as WAM Theatre's Fresh Takes Series. We always want our taproom to be a safe, inclusive, and dynamic space, and transforming it into a community theater over the course of this season is a new and welcomed addition to our programming, and it's also something we're convinced our audience will appreciate and enjoy.”

The excitement extends to Metzler, playwright Cry it Out, who shared, “I'm beyond grateful and excited that WAM is including Cry it Out in their season. When I wrote this play, alone in my kitchen with a newborn, I yearned for connection with women, parents, and artists. To be embraced by WAM — and all they stand for in our artistic community— feels like a dream.” 

“Cry It Out makes you laugh out loud, cringe with delight, and delivers a gut punch of reality.” added Merrihew. “With these brilliant actors, the play provides a poignant look at early motherhood, and the skillful way women carve out space for themselves amongst the chaos. Alongside this story of friendship, Metzler weaves in conversations in class and care costs in America. As we see in our local Berkshire headlines, childcare deserts make it hard for families to find care let alone afford it. This play gets at the heart of that, and it's an important dialogue to open up in our community.”

Kristen Moriarty will play the role of Jessie, a new mother who, once a corporate lawyer in Manhattan, is now on maternity leave wearing milk-stained, yoga pants in a sleepy Long Island suburb. Moriarty is a theatre artist with a broad range of experience encompassing acting, voice work, directing, choreographing, teaching, and more. Her credits include: Company Artist at Shakespeare & Company and Contributing Artist at Vitalist Theatre and Toy Boat Theatre.

Caroline Festa plays Lina, also a new mother and neighbor to Jessie. Lina and Jessie become fast friends and hold sacred space to visit with each other over coffee in their adjoining yards during naptime. Festa is an actor and playwright with a passion for new work and physical theatre. Her credits include: Peter Pan (Wendy, Tour), Macbeth (Off-Broadway Workshop), and Ships (Official Selection, Soho International Film Festival).

Finally, Zoë Laiz and Marcus Kearns play a couple (Adrienne & Mitchell respectively) who live in a mansion atop a hill that overlooks Jessie and Lina's neighborhood. Jessie and Lina's intimacy is punctured when a stranger - Mitchell - begs the two to allow his wife, another new mother, to join their coffee dates. Reluctantly, the duo tries to become a trio, but with very mixed—and surprising—results. Laiz is a Filipina-Jewish actor, local to the Berkshires, who rejoins WAM Theatre previously starring in Waxworks, The Revolutionists, Water By the Spoonful, and The Oregon Trail. Kearns is a versatile theatre artist whose credits include: Mr Fullerton in Mr Fullerton (Great Barrington Public Theater), Romeo in Romeo & Juliet (New England Regional Shakespeare Tour), and Barrington Stage Company: Director of Production & Operations (2023-2024).

WAM Theatre will also be hosting a pay what you can yoga class as another event to celebrate Mother's Month.