"Jaja's African Hair Braiding" - by Jocelyn Bioh - SpeakEasy Stage Company (Boston, MA.) - REVIEW
(Cover Photo: The CAST of Jocelyn Bioh's "JAJA'S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING" now playing at SpeakEasy Stage Company in Boston, MA. until May 31, 2025. Photo credit Nile Scott Studios)
By Kevin T. Baldwin
METRMAG Reviewer
# 774-242-6724
“They were happy to take my money. And taxes too! How is that fair, eh? If we are paying taxes, then we should become citizens, that’s it!”
- ("Jaja") / Jocelyn Bioh
SpeakEasy Stage Company
Presents Jocelyn Bioh's
"JAJA'S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING"
2024 Tony Nominee – Best Play!
New England Premiere!
Written by Jocelyn Bioh
Directed by Summer L. Williams
Cast Includes: MaConnia Chesser* as "Jaja," Hampton Richards as "Jennifer," Catia as " Ndidi," MarHadoo Effeh* as "Miriam," Kwezi Shongwe as "Aminata," Dru Sky Berrian as "Marie," Crystin Gilmore* as "Bea," Yasmeen Duncan as "Chrissy/Michelle/LaNiece," Ashley Aldarondo as "Vanessa/Radia/Sheila," Joshua Olumide* as "James/Sock Man/DVD Man/Jewelry Man."
Additional Creative Team:
Scenic Design – Janie E. Howland**; Costume Design – Danielle Domingue Sumi; Lighting Design – Christopher Brusberg**; Sound Design – Aubrey Dube; Hair and Wigs Design – Nadja Vanterpool; Props Coordination – Andrew Reynolds; Intimacy Choreography – Paulina Martz; Dialect Coaching – Debora Crabbe; Production Stage Manager – Elizabeth Yvette Ramirez*; Assistant Stage Manager – Athéna-Genesis Baptiste Assistant Director – Kayla Sessoms; Lead Production Electrician – Greg Wilson; Assistant to the Costume Designer – Tree Brock; Wardrobe Supervisor – Samantha Wolfrum; Sub Wardrobe Supervisor – E. Rosser; Sound Board Operator/Run Crew – Abigail Lienhard; Stage Management Intern/Run Crew - Sophia Tallamraju; Primary Auto Describer – Dave Heard; Auto Describer – Eddie Maisonet; New User Expert – Mikey Schutt; Mural Artist – Lee “SOEMS” Beard; Scenery Construction – Wooden Kiwi Productions (Waltham, MA.); Show Photographer – Nile Scott Studios; Videographer/Additional Photography – Kathy Wittman; Additional Photography – Taylor Rossie Photography; Show Art Designer – Jules Talbot.
* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States
** Represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829 of the IA
Performances:
May 2, 2025 through May 31, 2025
(Contact Box Office for Exact Times)
Roberts Studio Theatre, Calderwood / BCA, 527 Tremont Street, Boston, MA. 02116
TICKETS:
Contact the Box Office # 617-933-8600 or visit www.speakeasystage.com
BUY TICKETS
COVID 19 PROTOCOLS
Contact Venue for Most Updated COVID-19 Safety Protocols and Information.
(Warning: The following review contains spoilers)
You will definitely want to make an appointment to visit the SpeakEasy Stage to see the charming and engaging play, "JAJA'S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING" which closes out a fabulous 2024-2025 season.
Written by Jocelyn Bioh, the 90-minute one-act play "JAJA'S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING" made its Broadway debut in 2023 and had a limited run of only 56 performances.
However, the show proved popular and was extended twice from its original end date and also offered live streams of the show for the final week of performances.
The show was nominated for six Tony Awards, including Best Play, winning for Best Costume Design of a Play.
Nikiya Mathis would receive both a special Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for Hair and Wig Design (for the SpeakEasy production this area of expertise is managed by Nadja Vanterpool).
Now, hot on the heels of its Broadway production, the show makes its New England premiere at SpeakEasy Stage Company in Boston, expertly directed by Summer L. Williams.
(Photo: The CAST of Jocelyn Bioh's "JAJA'S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING" now playing at SpeakEasy Stage Company in Boston, MA. until May 31, 2025. Photo credit Nile Scott Studios)
Set in Harlem in 2019, "JAJA'S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING" is a popular area salon where every day a varied group of West African immigrant hair braiders offer up masterpieces on the heads of neighborhood women.
The outer layer of the SpeakEasy Stage Company show's wonderful single set design features a fabulous mural of the storefront by artist Lee “SOEMS” Beard.
Inside the shop, though, there is also some fabulous artistry involved in this production (along with some magical slight-of-hand) in the many moments of actual hair styling and braiding incorporated into the story.
Similar to other entries in what has become its own workplace film genre (“Car Wash,” “Barbershop” and Beauty Shop” among others) the events of the story take place in a single day (in this case a hot summer's day) as workers deal with customers, visitors and each other.
As we become more acquainted with the hardworking women of the salon, we observe how they bond and quickly learn that, even at times when they argue amongst each other, there is an overall undeniable sense of community.
JAJA (MaConnia Chesser), the Senegalese owner of her own hair braiding shop in Harlem, is described in the script as the “backbone and/or saving grace of everyone in the shop.”
Chesser is a dynamic presence on stage although the character is not seen until very late into the play as JAJA is busy preparing for her civil (aka “green-card”) wedding ceremony taking place on this day.
In her absence, JAJA'S 18-year-old daughter Marie (Dru Sky Berrian) runs the shop for her mother as JAJA prepares for the wedding.
Berrian, in an insightful, engaging performance, shows us how, in many ways, Marie serves as the “adult in the room” when others in the shop (including JAJA) fall short.
(Photo: Kwezi Shongwe as "Aminata" and Crystin Gilmore as "Bea" in a scene from Jocelyn Bioh's "JAJA'S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING" now playing at SpeakEasy Stage Company in Boston, MA. until May 31, 2025. Photo credit Nile Scott Studios)
Jennifer (Hampton Richards) is an aspiring young journalist who has come to the shop for micro braids.
Richards is quite good as Jennifer, who is herself a good observer and listener, soon becoming the audience’s POV taking in and analyzing the events as they occur throughout the story.
One can pick up a lot just from Richards' surreptitiously provided facial expressions in a mostly quiet, understated performance.
Catia is exciting to watch in the role of Ndidi, a young Nigerian, the best braider in the shop who is in constant conflict with Ghanaian braider Bea (expertly rendered by Crystin Gilmore), who has been at the shop the longest.
Miriam (MarHadoo Effeh) a young braider from Sierra Leonean who works on Jennifer’s hair. Effeh gives a sympathetic portrayal of Miriam who at first seems timid but soon reveals her more adventurous side - one that has attempted to be suppressed by an unfeeling spouse.
The above is relayed to Jennifer in a wonderfully poignant segment of the play, also illustrating how some clients bond with the person doing their hair, especially if their hair might take nearly the entire day to complete.
Aminata (Kwezi Shongwe) is a Senegalese braider who brings life’s joy with her to work and, as vividly embodied by Shongwe, also brings an enthusiasm that is infectious among her co-workers.
(Photo: MarHadoo Effeh as "Miriam" with Hampton Richards as "Jennifer" in a scene from Jocelyn Bioh's "JAJA'S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING" now playing at SpeakEasy Stage Company in Boston, MA. until May 31, 2025. Photo credit Nile Scott Studios)
Rounding out the SpeakEasy Stage's "JAJA" cast are three versatile actors assuming multiple roles, entering the shop as various customers, friends and family of the workers, including:
- Yasmeen Duncan as “Chrissy” who wants braids like Beyonce; “Michelle,” a catalyst of contention between two competing braiders, and; “LaNiece,” another regular customer to the shop.
- Ashley Aldarondo plays “Vanessa,” an incredibly hostile customer to Aminata; “Radia,” one of Marie’s former classmates who is an unexpected and unpleasant surprise for Marie; and “Sheila,” a self-absorbed businesswoman.
- Finally, Joshua Olumide portrays all the male characters in the show, including: “James,” Aminata’s Ghanaian ne'er-do-well husband; “Franklin,” the Sock Man, a friendly peddler; “Olu,” a Nigerian jewelry peddler; and “Eric,” a Senegalese DVD man we meet late in the story.
The above actors also yield some of the show's biggest laughs and there are a lot of laughs to be had.
(Photo: In the foreground are Crystin Gilmore, Dru Sky Berrian, and Catia while in the background are MarHadoo Effeh, Hampton Richards and Kwezi Shongwe in a scene from Jocelyn Bioh's "JAJA'S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING" now playing at SpeakEasy Stage Company in Boston, MA. until May 31, 2025. Photo credit Nile Scott Studios)
Yes, the premise of "JAJA'S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING" is familiar and the only element of surprise comes way too quickly, too late and with insufficient set-up given by the late arrival of JAJA into the story.
That aside, where "JAJA'S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING" succeeds is in how playwright Jocelyn Bioh showcases well the life that takes place within the working space and the alliances forged as a result.
The SpeakEasy Stage set design is reminiscent of any struggling neighborhood hair business that barely survives on a day-to-day basis - walls showing their age with lights that do not always work, an air conditioner that breaks down on hot summer days, mis-matching chairs and other antiquated items.
These hard-working women - these artists - may not always agree, may not always be friends, but they are always the beating heart of this community that is their shop and, most of all, they know that any one of them might not be there the next day.
(Photo: The CAST of Jocelyn Bioh's "JAJA'S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING" now playing at SpeakEasy Stage Company in Boston, MA. until May 31, 2025. Photo credit Nile Scott Studios)
So, remember to place this appointment on your calendar to see the terrific Jocelyn Bioh's "JAJA'S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING" which continues at SpeakEasy Stage Company in Boston, MA. until May 31st, 2025.
For tickets and more information, contact the Box Office at # 617-933-8600 or visit www.speakeasystage.com.
BUY TICKETS
Approximately 90 minutes with no intermission
Kevin T. Baldwin is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA)
@MetrmagReviews
@Theatre_Critics
ABOUT THE SHOW
“Brilliant! A powerful tale about joy, dreams, community, and sisterhood.” - Entertainment Weekly
It’s a hot summer day in 2019, and in Harlem, "JAJA'S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING" salon is open for business, even though its eponymous owner is hours away from getting married.
Presiding over the shop’s team of talented, high-spirited, West African designers is Jaja’s daughter Marie, a DREAMer who has set her sights on college.
When shocking news disrupts the day’s festivities, the women must grapple with what it means to be outsiders in the place they call home.
ABOUT SPEAKEASY STAGE COMPANY
SPEAKEASY STAGE COMPANY is a non-profit theatre company located in the South End of Boston and is led by award-winning Producing Artistic Director Paul Daigneault. SPEAKEASY STAGE COMPANY was named the Pavilion Resident Theater for the Boston Center for the Arts in 2007 and produces 28 weeks of new plays and musicals each season at the Nancy and Ed Roberts Studio Theater in the Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts.
