Theater News

School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play Coming to Broadway

Jocelyn Bioh’s play has been announced as part of the fall season at Manhattan Theatre Club, along with Nick Payne’s The Unbelievers.

Zachary Stewart

| Off-Broadway |

March 17, 2026

128.Abena Mensah Bonsu, Mirirai Sithole, and Paige Gilbert in 'School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play' at MCC Theater (photo by Joan Marcus) — Abena Mensah Bonsu, Mirirai Sithole, and Paige Gilbert appeared in the 2017 off-Broadway production of *School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play* for MCC at the Lucille Lortel Theatre.
(© Joan Marcus)

Manhattan Theatre Club has announced two new productions for its forthcoming 2026-27 season. Jocelyn Bioh’s School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play will make its Broadway debut at MTC’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. Performances begin September 8.

The story of an American girl who transfers to a boarding school in Ghana, School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play was an off-Broadway hit when it debuted with MCC in 2017, with TheaterMania’s review declaring it, “one of the funniest shows of the season.” It returned the following year for an extended encore run.

This new production for MTC will be helmed by Whitney White, who directed Bioh’s Jaja’s African Hair Braiding at the Friedman in 2023.

MTC will also present the American premiere of Nick Payne’s The Unbelievers at its off-Broadway space, New York City Center Stage I. The play is about a couple living in the wake of the disappearance of their teenage son. Knud Adams (Tony nominee for English) directs. Performances begin October 13.