2024 - 1st Play - Jaja's African Hair Braiding by Jocelyn Bioh
Somi Kakoma as Jaja with, from left, Dominique Thorne, Nana Mensah, Maechi Aharanwa and Lakisha May in “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding” at the Samuel J. Friedman Theater in Manhattan.Credit...Sara Krulwich/The New York Times
This play was included in a copy of American Theatre Magazine that had been sitting around my place for a few months. After hearing it mentioned at the Tonys (no, I did not watch the whole show), I realized that I had a copy of it!!! Then I picked up the magazine and started to read.
Summary: “This comedic play, which had its world premiere at Manhattan Theatre Club in 2023, offers a glimpse into one sweltering summer day in the lives of a group of West African immigrant women who find community in a Harlem hair salon. Love blossoms, dreams flourish, and secrets are revealed in this dazzling production.” Chicago Shakespeare Theater (it’s coming in 2025!!!)
Laura’s thoughts in brief: This play moves along well and is a fun read. Each of the female characters have a story and we get to know bits of them - funny and darker. I LOVED the fact that the piece features certain characters more than others, but is really an Ensemble piece featuring all WOMEN!! There is one male cast member who has a couple of entertaining characters, but it’s a WOMEN-centered story. Hallelujah! Getting a bird’s eye view into a hair braiding salon is really fascinating, although it made me think about how HARD this work is. Additionally, we learn a lot about being a West African immigrant to the US, which is even HARDER. Mostly the play is cheeky and funny, with some more weighty moments scattered here and there, and I really enjoyed it, but was not completely lost in it. The ending takes a turn and deepens the piece beautifully. After reading the ending, THEN I was sucked in. I wanted MORE at that point! I kind of wish that incident had happened earlier, so that we could spend more time with these amazing characters dealing with it more (Trying not to include SPOILER here!). All in all, I very much enjoyed reading the play, but I think this one would be much more powerful live. With luck I’ll get to see it when it comes to Chicago Shakes next year!
READ MORE! Here’s what others had to say about the Manhattan Theatre Club production:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/03/theater/jajas-african-hair-braiding-review.html
https://ew.com/theater/theater-reviews/jajas-african-hair-braiding-review-broadway/
https://variety.com/2023/legit/reviews/jajas-african-hair-braiding-review-broadway-1235740710/