Escape cries from the audience (4)
I believe the answer is:
ooze
'escape' is the definition.
'cries from the audience' is the wordplay.
'cries' becomes 'oohs' ('ooh' is an exclamation or cry).
'from the audience' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue (how it might sound to an audience).
'oohs' is a homophone of 'OOZE'.
(Other definitions for ooze that I've seen before include "nap" , "Emit" , "Percolate" , "Trickle slowly out, like mud" , "Seep, exude" .)