Broadway Farewell: 'School Girls' wraps run with free livestreams
The play about Ghanaian boarding school life and colorism ends its theater residency this week, offering digital access to students and paid streams for general audiences.
By Zoe Harrison ·
Jocelyn Bioh’s play 'School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play' concludes its Broadway run this week. The production is transitioning to digital distribution via The League of Live Stream Theater’s website. High school students can access the livestreams for free. General audiences must pay a fee to watch the broadcasts.
The drama is set in 1986 at the Aburi Girls Boarding School in Ghana. It follows six teenage girls competing for a pageant title that promises fame and fortune. Paulina, the school’s dominant figure, bullies her peers over appearance and social status. Her plans to win Miss Ghana are disrupted by the arrival of Ericka, a transfer student from Ohio.
Ericka, who has lighter skin than Paulina, challenges the existing social hierarchy. She exposes Paulina’s behavior during a performance of Whitney Houston’s 'Greatest Love of All.' The conflict escalates when the school headmistress and a pageant director clash over beauty standards. They debate which girl has the best chance of winning the Miss Global Universe title based on their skin tone.
Bioh, a Tony Award-nominated playwright, stated she was not actively thinking about the 2004 film 'Mean Girls' while writing the script. She added that her friend and actress Danai Gurira described the characters as feral teenage girls. Bioh noted that this archetype is incredibly universal. She chose the subtitle after reflecting on the themes of emotions and feelings within the story.
The play addresses colorism directly through the lens of Ghanaian women and girls. Bioh, a dark-skinned woman, said she wrote the piece to shorten the journey for young girls struggling with their own beauty. She argued that the play’s message resonates with audiences from various backgrounds. She asked, who has decided that one standard of beauty is the standard for everybody? She hopes the entertainment shifts implicit biases as viewers move through the world.
The cast is entirely Black and female, featuring Denée Benton as Paulina and Jasmine Amy Rogers as Ericka. Other cast members include Lucia Aremu, Nia Otchere-Sarfo, Jordan Rice, and Erin Morton. Bioh observed that audiences see facets of themselves in these girls regardless of their own backgrounds. She believes this connection holds the heart of the production.
The show is now on Broadway nearly ten years after its Off-Broadway premiere. Bioh shared a direct message from Jenna Fischer, who saw the play recently. Fischer contacted Bioh again the next day to say she was still thinking about the production. Bioh noted that Fischer, a comedic genius with no prior experience with colorism, was moved by the show's message.
Bioh hopes audiences leave with a deep sense of empathy for both the young girls and the adult women in the story. She asked people to shift their ideas about things, even if only a little bit. She said that if she can move them just a teeny bit, she has done her job. The play ends its physical run this week before the digital releases begin.
