Bring Your Laundry, Admission Is Free

The All-Brite Laundromat at 1366 Commonwealth Avenue in Brighton, Mass., is the unusual "theater" currently playing host to "Third and Oak: The Laundromat," a tautly written and tenderly moving one-act play by Marsha Norman. Directed by Bobbie Steinbach and starring Brooke Haney as the young wife DeeDee and Susan Bigger as the more mature Alberta, "The Laundromat" sometimes comically, sometimes seriously illustrates that two women with very different life experiences can find common ground while doing a common chore.

Bringing new meaning to the term "Soap Opera," this particular production is as much truth as it is fiction. Real patrons provide a real backdrop for the actors "on stage" as they wash, spin, dry and fold, snapping the wrinkles out of sheets and dropping quarters into soap and softener dispensers. One young man even sidled between audience members seated on folding counters in order to make change for a dollar bill. The coins clanging noisily into the change receptacle only added to the verité of the women's kitchen sink dialog.

Response to "The Laundromat" has been so strong that performances have been extended through July 1. According to press notes, many unsuspecting laundry-doers have stayed to become-theater goers. "This has been a fascinating study in audience development," says Brooke Haney, the mastermind behind this production.

Additional performances are scheduled for Thursday-Saturday, June 28-30, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, July 1, at 3 p.m. Tickets are $5 for standing room only (free if you bring your laundry), and $20 for assigned seating. Reservations are recommended. For assigned seating email laundromattickets@gmail.com.

Brooke Haney as DeeDee and Susan Bigger as Alberta

Susan Bigger and Brooke Haney

Susan Bigger and Brooke Haney

Susan Bigger and Brooke Haney