Leaving Synchronicity Theatre on opening night, a mother pauses to photograph her two daughters in the lobby. The girls are acting out baseball plays, mimicking what they just saw onstage. That is what legacy looks like, and it is exactly the kind of impact Marcenia “Toni Stone” Lyle has been making for generations, even on those who never knew her name until tonight.
“Catching the Moon: The Story of a Young Girl’s Baseball Dream, “a musical production, is now playing at Synchronicity Theatre on Peachtree Street. The stage play is based on the true story of Marcenia Lyle, a Black girl in the 1930s who overcomes prejudice to pursue her dream of playing professional baseball, while defying societal expectations from family and pushback from coaches. Lyle eventually grows into Toni Stone, the trailblazer who in the early 1950s became the first woman to play professional baseball in the Negro Leagues. The musical brings to life a chapter of American sports history that too few audiences have learned.
Karasytn Bibb, who plays Stone in the production, said stepping into the role demanded more than memorizing lines and blocking. It required getting inside the mind of a woman who refused to be told no.
“She’s so influential and was such a strong person in her own life that I had to make sure that I had her mindset going into this,” Bibb said. “It took a lot of research and a lot of dedication to make sure I’m doing justice to the actual person I’m portraying.”
Director Charity Purvis-Jordan said this moment in time called for exactly this kind of story.
“We’re in a time where you’re challenged on whether you’re going to stick to something or let it go just because people say you don’t fit in or shouldn’t deserve to play,” Purvis-Jordan said. “I just wanted to honor this historical icon that many people don’t even know about.”
There is an almost cosmic symmetry to the show opening in February, the same month baseball legend Hank Aaron was born on Feb. 5. Purvis-Jordan also pointed to a lesser-known historical connection: when Aaron left the Indianapolis Clowns to integrate Major League Baseball, the roster spot he vacated became the opportunity Marcenia “Toni Stone” Lyle stepped into.
“You got to know this full circle,” Purvis-Jordan said. “It’s just divine timing.”
The show runs for an hour and 15 minutes, with an intermission in between. The production is part of Synchronicity’s family series, fully realized musicals for all ages. Managing director Celise Kalke said Producing Artistic Director Rachel May selected the show with clear urgency in mind.
“She has an uncanny sense of what to choose for right now,” Kalke said. “This musical is really great for this moment, because we desperately need to feel positive about women and opportunity.”
Purvis-Jordan said she hopes the show reconnects people with something they may have set aside.
“I hope they remember that anything is possible, even for a little girl with a big dream,” she said. “The world is limitless, and the universe will make a path for your dreams to come true.”