By Jody Tuso-Key

One of the pleasures of living in the Atlanta area is seeing a new work premiere that shows promise for a bright future. Synchronicity is a rare gem of a theater that showcases women’s works and gives new characters a voice. I was honored to see their latest offering, THE WASH, and can truly say, Synchronicity, you’ve done it again! This is what my dad used to say to my mom every night to tell her she’d made a delicious dinner, and it’s meant to be high praise.

The best part about seeing a show is sharing it with someone else. This time I brought one of my theater students, Mayiah. She is going into eighth grade and loves performing and seeing shows. I had as much fun enjoying the show as seeing it through her young eyes.

THE WASH is a National New World Network rolling play premiere and co-production between Synchronicity and Impact Theatre Atlanta. The play highlights the Atlanta labor event known as the 1881 Atlanta Washerwoman Strike. This little-known movement was the blueprint for the labor unions of the early 1900s. Just in time for Juneteenth, Playwright Kelundra Smith and Director Brenda Porter deliver an important piece of history that showcases black women’s accomplishments only a sweet 16 years after the end of the American Civil War.

Kelundra Smith is a nationally known journalist and theater critic and a graduate of the University of Georgia (Go Dawgs!). She spins a tale of 6 fictional women–5 black women from Old Fourth Ward (birthplace of Martin Luther King, Jr) who initiate the strike, and one white woman who joins them and helps extend membership into even more affluent areas of the city. Each character has her own unique personality and backstory, and we get to know each one as the story unfolds.

The opening scene depicts Anna (Tanya Freeman) counting out beans and rice at four in the morning. A woman with a shotgun, Jeanie (Nevaina) comes in to see who is up. We find that Anna is the owner of the washing business and Jeanie is her no-nonsense friend, employee, and the story’s comic relief. Where Anna is more serious and steady, Jeanie is not afraid to tell it like it is, and that makes her my favorite character. Anna and Jeanie talk about the business and spill the tea about the folks whose clothes they wash. This scene does an excellent job of offering exposition and insight into the life and times of these characters.

In the second scene, we meet the rest of the women who work for Anna. Jewel (Kenadi Deal) is a student with high ideals and the courage to begin the strike by throwing clothes out the door and into the street. Charity (Makallen Kelley) is a sweet and innocent soul who is in a loving marriage and becomes pregnant later in the production. Thomasine (Jamila Turner) a ‘scab’ who is more cautious and continues washing to support her family. I found this second scene to be very powerful as there was no dialogue, just several minutes of women working their fingers to the bone to get the laundry washed, hung, ironed, and folded. Eventually, one of the women breaks out in song, and the rest join in.

Once the strike is underway, we meet Mozelle (Charis Sellick), a white washerwoman who wants to join the movement. She is pivotal in extending the strike to other areas of Atlanta where white women are as oppressed and want to fight for fair wages. The wages they fought for were $1 per dozen pounds of wash. These courageous ladies grew from 20 to 3000 strikers in 3 weeks. They endured arrests, fines, and house visits from municipal authorities. The City council imposed a $25 annual fee in exchange for non-profit tax status for commercial laundry businesses.

The trinity of words that sums up this show is revelational, inspirational, and empowering. What this play teaches today’s women (and everyone else) is that it doesn’t matter if you are marginal or if people think you are ‘less than’. There is strength in numbers and if you’re courageous enough, you can make a change in the world that benefits you and others.

Brenda Porter’s vision for this show was simplistic and yet complex if something could be two at the same time. I especially want to compliment the scenic crew (Kat Conley, Stefnie Cerny, and Natalie Smith) whose set design was comprised mostly of clotheslines that could be taken down and up and down for each scene. As always at Synchronicity, the use of projections enhanced the story. There were two very creative clotheslines comprised of sheets both upstage and downstage that acted as screens for the projectors which displayed photos from the actual days gone by, written facts, and news articles about the Washerwoman Strike.

All the actors were amazing and these ladies worked well together and delivered genuine performances. This is a Speakeysie recommended show and runs until June 30th. Get your tickets asap!