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.
Make no mistake, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding is wildly entertaining. Bioh’s comedic skills are masterful, ballooned further by a talented ensemble. Mensah, in particular, brings a bracing dry humor, an excellent complement to the cast’s energetic antics. But the urge to sink into drama, particularly in the play’s last moments, is unnecessary. Bioh’s commitment to showing levity is refreshing. It’s a needed counterbalance to African stories that reek of debasement (often puppeteered by white people), and the increasing number of first-gen comedies committed to mocking the immigrant experience for a chortle. Jaja’s is at its best when its characters are allowed to be defined by indignation and empowered in their essential craft, not used to underline the trauma within the US immigration process.
You don’t need to be a Black woman with braids to enjoy this play: heck, it might teach you something about the intricacies of a craft you only have observed from afar. But this play is also trying to reach a Black audience, long ignored by Broadway. It took producers a while, but there are signs in this still-young season that many have finally figured out that many of the audience members they want to reach are not looking for dramas about pain, aimed mostly at white audiences, but instead want affirmative experiences that offer laughs at human foibles and celebrate doing something really well, day in, day out. “Jaja’s” is a comedy about life as it is lived in this place, about community, aspiration and entrepreneurship. Mostly, though, it’s a show about immigrants getting the job done, and having fun doing it, one braid at a time.
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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