This dazzling world premiere from Jocelyn Bioh welcomes you into Jaja’s bustling hair braiding salon in Harlem where every day, a lively and eclectic group of West African immigrant hair braiders are creating masterpieces on the heads of neighborhood women. During one sweltering summer day, love will blossom, dreams will flourish and secrets will be revealed. The uncertainty of their circumstances simmers below the surface of their lives and when it boils over, it forces this tight-knit community to confront what it means to be an outsider on the edge of the place they call home.
Bioh contrives a heart-stopping development that threatens not only Jaja but daughter Marie. She contrives it but awkwardly. As she rapidly heads into ending the play, she leaves things on — forgive this — ice. And this leaves Jaja’s African Hair Braiding as insufficiently dramatic, though never less than amusing, as acted by the 10-member cast and directed by Whitney White, who apparently knows exactly what has a braiding outfit buzzing any and every day. The play does give a reviewer a chance to nod strongly at a creative team member too often overlooked: the hair and wig designer. That individual is indisputably crucial here. Check out, especially, what eye-catchers crown Bea, Aminata, and Ndidi. Awesome work, Nikiya Mathis.
Through tensions and extensions, Bioh’s day-in-the-life play never loses its comedic potency, and its ensemble shines throughout. When Jennifer (Rachel Christopher), an aspiring journalist who walks in at open to get micro-braids, everyone deflates with knowingly exhausted chagrin. By the time she leaves, almost at close, she, and us, can hardly believe it’s time to go.
2023 | Broadway |
Manhattan Theatre Club Original Broadway Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play | Brittany Adebumola |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Play | Jocelyn Bioh |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Wig and Hair | Nikiya Mathis |
2024 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance | Zenzi Williams |
2024 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Direction of a Play | Whitney White |
2024 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Production of a Play | Jaja’s African Hair Braiding |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Costume Design (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | Dede Ayite |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding New Broadway Play | Jocelyn Bioh |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Costume Design of a Play | Dede Ayite |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Play | Whitney White |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Play | Jocelyn Bioh |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Scenic Design of a Play | David Zinn |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Sound Design of a Play | Justin Ellington |
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