Video: Playwright Jocelyn Bioh Talks Tony Nominations for JAJA'S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING

Jaja's African Hair Braiding has been nominated for 5 Tony Awards, including Best Play.

By: Jun. 07, 2024
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Playwright Jocelyn Bioh appeared on Good Morning America on Friday to talk about the Tony-nominated play Jaja's African Hair Braiding, which recently played at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.

"It's an incredible thing," Bioh said about the play bringing in first-time Broadway ticket buyers. "I think that's what we always want Broadway to do: to invite new audiences, to have more engagement. It's about creating new spaces for people to have fun and celebrate and I think that's exactly what Jaja's African Hair Braiding did."

Bioh shared that she believes the play is relatable because of the "rich universality to the story. I think it wasn't just about a bunch of women braiding hair. It was about a community of people coming together with these immigrant women who have found community and family within each other. I think that's a really important thing to be able to highlight, especially in this day and age."

Later in the interview, she also discussed the Tony Award nominations for the play which she says feels "otherworldly".

Jaja's African Hair Braiding has been nominated for 5 Tony Awards, including Best Play. In April, it was announced that the play will be embarking on a multi-city tour beginning this September.

Watch the full interview now!

Jaja's African Hair Braiding welcomes you into Jaja’s bustling hair braiding shop 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. This extraordinary new play is by the award winning Ghanaian-American playwright Jocelyn Bioh (School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play) and was directed by Obie winner Whitney White (Our Dear Dead Drug Lord).

Jaja’s African Hair Braiding was produced on Broadway by Manhattan Theatre Club and Madison Wells Live with LaChanze/">LaChanze and Taraji P. Henson.




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