appollinaire theater - Theater Mirror

*Amie Gem Lytle, Lily Kaufman and Becca A. Lewis in Apollinaire Theatre Company’s ‘Cry it Out’*

Review by James Wilkinson

Cry it Out – Written by Molly Smith Metzler. Directed by Danielle Fauteux Jacques. Set Design: Ilona Overweg. Costume Design: Elizabeth Rocha. Sound Design: David Reiffel. Properties Design: Kevin McGrath. Presented by Apollinaire Theatre Company at Chelsea Theatre Works, 189 Winnisimmet St, Chelsea through January 19, 2020

If you stop and think about it, it’s actually a rather brutal title. We’ll be given context early on in the play by Molly Smith Metzler that’s now being produced by Apollinaire Theatre Company, which is helpful for those of us who have yet to enter the parenting game. “Cry it Out,” as in “Letting them cry it out,” refers to a method of sleep training where the parents refrain from comforting their wailing newborns so that the infants can learn to fall asleep without assistance. It’s a necessary skill for life, (I guess), but by attaching the phrase to a play about parenting, Metzler gives it much darker implications. As her characters attempt to navigate the trials and tribulations of young motherhood through a lens of class and circumstance, the title starts to feel like an unspoken sneer coming from the society around them – one that’s dripping with existential dread. “Yeah, no one’s coming to help you. Figure it out for yourselves” seems to be the lesson imparted. Grim stuff to attach to the joys of motherhood.

by Nicholas Whittaker

‘The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart’ – Written by David Greig. Directed by Danielle Fauteux Jacques. Music Direction and Sound Design by David Reiffel. Stage Manager/Choreographer: Christie Lee Gibson. ASM: Robin Mackey. Costume Design. Elizabeth Rocha. Set/Lighting Design: Danielle Fauteux Jacques. Dialect Coach: Christopher Sherwood Davis. Box Office Manager: Nina Weiss. Presented by Apollinaire Theatre Company at Chelsea Theater Works through May 4th.

When one walks into the theater for The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart, they should be forgiven for thinking that they were in the wrong place. Rather than standing before a standard stage, one finds themselves surrounded by long wooden benches and stools, with a beer-and-wine stocked bar to one side. The cast loudly sings traditional Scottish melodies in the corner, and the buzzing room feels more like a warmly-lit tavern than a playhouse minutes before a show begins. This kind of transformational power is the calling card of Apollinaire Theatre Company’s production, The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart. With tremendous wit, elegance, and bawdy energy, the play rethinks the theatrical and dramatic tradition, combining the past and future in a thrilling exploration of the power and complexity of narrative.

Tag: appollinaire theater

Apollinaire Theatre Company Lets You ‘Cry it Out’

Apollinaire’s ‘Prudencia Hart’ a Rare Theatrical Find