Kiera Prusmack, Lindsey McWhorter, Jada Saintlouis, Marhadoo Effeh, MaConnia Chesser. Photo by Ken Yotsukura.

Presented by The Front Porch Arts Collective
By Kelundra Smith
Directed by Tasia A Jones 

Ooct. 31 – Nov. 22, 2026
Stanford Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA 
Boston, MA 02116

Critique by Kitty Drexel

TL;DR:  The Porch’s The Wash had a bad night. It is still a great production. Link to purchase the playscript is below.   

“What doesn’t come out in the wash comes out in the rinse.” – A Southern folk proverb

Proverbs 31:18: “She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.”

BOSTON — Playwright Kelundra Smith’s website succinctly summarizes the story of The Wash, presented by the Front Porch Arts Collective and currently running at the BCA in Boston: Inspired by the true story of the Atlanta washerwomen’s strike of 1881, The Wash tells us about the first successful interracial, organized labor strike of the post-Civil War era. Aunties Anna (Lindsey McWhorter), Jeanie (Maconnia Chesser), and their charges Thomasine (Marhadoo Effeh), Jewel (Kiera Prusmack), and Charity (Jada Saintlouis) work 18-hour days washing wealthy people’s dirty laundry.  Continue reading →