Nearly ten years after Jocelyn Bioh penned “School Girls” Or, “The African Mean Girls Play,” the work remains fundamentally unchanged. However, the cultural landscape surrounding it has evolved significantly. The comedy, which centers on the intense dynamics among teenage girls at a Ghanaian boarding school, first debuted off-Broadway in 2017. That production served as the launchpad for Bioh’s career, followed by numerous successful runs in regional theaters across the United States. Despite this regional popularity, Bioh encountered skepticism from industry gatekeepers who questioned whether the play was a suitable fit for a Broadway stage. Beneath its rapid-fire jokes and teenage rivalries is a more painful story about who gets to be considered beautiful – and what people are willing to do to fit that ideal. And what has changed enough for it to be on Broadway now, what do you think was meant by that.
The play has now officially arrived on Broadway, buoyed by the 2023 success of Bioh’s “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding.” This arrival offers the playwright a chance to engage with an audience that interprets the script’s exploration of body image, colorism, and the harsh realities of teenage social hierarchies with newfound depth. Beneath the quick-witted dialogue and humor lies a poignant examination of beauty standards and the lengths to which individuals go to conform to societal ideals. Now “School Girls” has made it there – following the Broadway success of Bioh’s “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding” in 2023 – and she is finding an audience that responds differently to the play’s exploration of body image, the privileging of lighter skin, known as colourism, and the often brutal social dynamics of girlhood.
Reflecting on the journey in New York City, Bioh described the milestone as a humbling, full-circle moment. She noted that the play was her first produced work and served as a clear dividing line in her professional life. The fact that the production resonates with critics and audiences nearly a decade later reinforces her belief that the story was always on the right track, even when told that its themes might not align with traditional Broadway expectations. It also feels doubly exciting because even though it had so much success regionally and has been all over the country, I was told, “It’s a great play, but maybe it’s not the right fit for a Broadway stage.”.
Bioh pointed out that Broadway’s landscape a decade ago was defined by rigid categorization. Producers often sought content that fit specific, narrow molds, and casting ensembles that mirrored the diverse, specific aesthetic of “School Girls” was not common practice. The success of “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding” acted as a turning point, signaling to the industry that a Broadway play is simply a play, rather than a project required to fit a restrictive box. Audiences are different than they were 10 years ago.
Public discourse regarding beauty and body image has also transformed since 2016. Bioh observed that audiences today engage with the material with greater awareness. She highlighted a recurring scene where a student named Nana stands up to her bully, Paulina. While early off-Broadway audiences were conditioned by the era to believe that students like Nana should simply conform or lose weight, modern audiences react with visceral support, often cheering as the character finds her agency.
When asked about revisions for this Broadway production, Bioh noted that she only adjusted minor jokes for better comedic timing. She emphasized that the core of the play remains exactly what she wrote in 2016. In fact, she noted that if she were to write the script today, she might inadvertently censor herself due to a heightened awareness of public scrutiny. Back then, she wrote with total vulnerability, never expecting that the play would reach such a prominent stage, which allowed for a raw, honest exploration of how colorism impacts one’s life. I can very clearly mark what my life was like before opening night of that show and then after.
