Jocelyn Bioh's Jaja's African Hair Braiding Sets Broadway World Premiere With MTC

Manhattan Theatre Club will present the world premiere of Jaja's African Hair Braiding, a new play by Jocelyn Bioh, as the first production of the company's 2023-24 Broadway season at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. Directed by Whitney White, performances will begin in fall 2023.

Jaja's African Hair Braiding is described as follows: "This dazzling world premiere 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 makes her Broadway playwriting debut with this production. Her past works include Merry Wives (Public Theater/Shakespeare in the Park, PBS Great Performances), Nollywood Dreams (MCC Theater), Goddess (a musical now in its world premiere at Berkeley Rep), and the multi-award-winning School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, which was originally produced at MCC Theater in 2017-18 and has gone on to have over 50 regional productions.

Performance dates, casting, and creative team information will be announced at a later date.