Howard Miller takes a look at Jaja's African Hair Braiding at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre:
A couple of years back, Ghanaian-American playwright Jocelyn Bioh led the post-pandemic reopening of the Delacorte Theater in New York's Central Park with a delightful retelling of Shakespeare's comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor. Retitled Merry Wives and relocated to modern day Harlem, it featured characters representing members of the African immigrant population from Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana, and Liberia. Very specifically, the play took place on 116th Street, with one of its settings being a hair braiding salon.
Now, Bioh and a different hair braiding salon are on hand as the playwright makes her Broadway debut with the thoroughly engrossing dramedy Jaja's African Hair Braiding, opening tonight at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. This time the salon is the sole setting, and, for the record, it is located a few blocks away on 125th Street, a competitor, perhaps. That is where we get to spend a day among the stylists, customers, and the occasional street vendor who pops in. |
