Monday, September 04, 2023
‘Jaja’s African Hair Braiding’ will introduce Broadway audiences to a world they’ve never seen
www.broadwaynews.com: The world-premiere production of “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding” is set to open at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on Oct. 3. The play, which marks the Main Stem debut of writer Jocelyn Bioh, is the first production of Manhattan Theatre Club’s 2023-2024 Broadway season.
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3 comments:
I am so excited for this show to open! I loved this article and there were so many comments that filled me with excitement. Two comments that really stood out to me were ,“I really hope that people also really meditate on the dignity of otherness,” and ”I hope that it just asks people to be more measured in the ways in which they extend grace and humanity to other people,”. I feel like these two statements are so incredibly powerful. From what I gathered this seems like a simple show that shows a party of humanity in its purest form. In our current world I believe we need more shows like this. Shows that force people to learn about people, cultures, and stories different than their own in their purest form. After all, that is why we do theater, to provide a look into other people's lives and their stories.
Hopefully I'll get a chance to see this production. I am a big supporter of Jocelyn Bioh's work. I saw Nollywood Dreams at Round House Theatre last year, and designed the lighting for the “Whitney Houston” scene from School Girls: Or the African Mean Girls Play my senior year of high school. While her plays are entertaining and comedic, they also have so much more impact touching on issues of classism, corruption, and colorism. I find new work very interesting and am hopeful that this show will be a great success given its line up of passionate actors, a phenomenal playwright, and signed on producers. Additionally, the message of this show seems very endearing. As actress Somi Kakoma says, ““I hope that it just asks people to be more measured in the ways in which they extend grace and humanity to other people.” I view this statement as the reason for our work and it's wonderful to hear this statement is being reflected so early in the show's process.
I live in New Jersey, about fifteen minutes away from Manhattan, so I was very excited to hear that “Jaja’s African Braiding” was opening up there. I am also a bit familiar with the Manhattan Theatre Club because they published one of my monologues a few years ago. I love the concept of this play because for me, it feels like home. I know it would also feel like home for many others. It is so interesting to me that black and brown people’s hair can be so controversial. There is so much discrimination on the basis of one’s hair, it had to be named, which is why it is known as texturism. I have experienced this many times. It is so racist that many people associate black hairstyles with hurtful stereotypes and has so many other negative connotations. The natural hair movement has been such a big influence on my life and it is so beautiful that this play will be able to share these messages with other black and brown girls.
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