Elizabeth Heflin Stars in Marisa Smith’s Bold New One-Woman Play at New Jersey Repertory Company

Unraveling to Rebuild: The Central Theme of Samantha Inside Out

Unraveling, then revealing. Unraveling, then rebuilding. That’s the basic theme of writer Marisa Smith’s one-woman play, Samantha Inside Out. The show is playing at the New Jersey Repertory Company theater in Long Branch, New Jersey.

Elizabeth Heflin Commands the Stage as Samantha — A Woman at Her Breaking Point

A Husband’s Humiliation Sparks a Night of Reckoning

Samantha (Elizabeth Heflin), maybe in her 50s or 60s, is at a breaking point in her life and ready to get away from her philandering husband. Oh, he’s a charmer, or so she says — a college professor commanding the room at a party with his colleagues and her. He has control until he humiliates Samantha with an off-color joke. Samantha has some choice words to describe “the dog off the porch. He is a whore.”

She escapes to the daughter’s bedroom of the host, where her unbridled, deep internal anger boils over. Samantha reveals the much-needed unraveling of a woman’s emotions and anger, wrecked by marital baggage.

Stodgy Clothes to Hip Wardrobe: Samantha’s Electrifying Physical Transformation

Samantha enters the room dressed as a proper, middle-aged high school English teacher, but as she slowly, vibrantly takes control, she removes the stodgy clothing and replaces it with hip, young clothing from the daughter’s closet. The costume change is more than theatrical — it is a visual manifesto of reclamation.

Samantha contemplates jumping out of the third-story window, but her inner strength takes over, and she changes her mind as she tells her story.

“Why Don’t Women Leave?” — Samantha Asks the Question We All Know

A Universal Story of Identity, Sexuality, and the Cost of Staying

Samantha’s journey is a typical story we hear amongst our women friends. We get married, we raise children, and we step aside for a man who believes he has more authority than we do. We lose our identity, our sexuality, our joy. We entertain the thought of affairs, just like our husbands do, and like so many others, Samantha gives her body to a younger man, if only for a short while.

“Why don’t women leave?” Samantha asks. There are a thousand reasons. With divorce, most of us will readily agree it’s hard to take the first step. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is the question of how to survive without your spouse.

The Courage to Walk Away: Why You Must See Samantha Inside Out

See Samantha Inside Out and find out what strength it takes to walk away.

Venues & Companies

• New Jersey Repertory Company: @njrep

Venue Information: New Jersey Repertory Company, Long Branch, NJ

Address & Contact

• Venue Name: Lumia Theater at New Jersey Repertory Company
• Address: 179 Broadway, Long Branch, NJ 07740
• Phone: 732-229-3166
• Website: NJ Rep
• Instagram: @njrep
• Parking: Free parking is available in the rear of the theatre

About New Jersey Repertory Company

Led by Artistic Director SuzAnne Barabas and Executive Producer Gabor Barabas, New Jersey Repertory Company is one of the state’s most acclaimed professional theaters, with a long history of developing bold new works and world premieres. Samantha Inside Out launches NJ Rep’s 2026 Mainstage Season.

Ticket Information

• Tickets available online at njrep.org or by calling 732-229-3166.
• Subscriptions and single tickets for the 2026 Season are currently on sale.

Performance Schedule

• Thursday: 7:00 PM
• Friday & Saturday: 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM
• Sunday: 2:00 PM
• Run Dates: February 19 – March 15, 2026 (Opening Night: February 21, 2026)

Production Credits

• Written by: Marisa Smith
• Directed by: Theresa Rebeck
• Starring: Elizabeth Heflin
• Presented by: New Jersey Repertory Company, 2026 Mainstage Season — World Premiere
• Playwright’s Website: com | smithandkraus.com

Samantha Inside Out stars Elizabeth Heflin. Written by Marisa Smith. Directed by Theresa Rebeck. Playing now through March 15 at New Jersey Repertory Company, 179 Broadway, Long Branch, NJ 07740. Tickets: njrep.org | 732-229-3166.