Manhattan Theatre Club will present the Broadway premiere of Jocelyn Bioh’s critically acclaimed play starting in early September.
Meet your new queen bees! Manhattan Theatre Club has set casting for School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play on Broadway, starting performances September 8 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre ahead of a September 28 opening.
The cast will include Lucia Aremu as Ama, Tony Award nominee Denée Benton as Paulina, Tony winner Patina Miller as Eloise Amponsah, Lucille Lortel and Drama Desk Award nominee Erin Morton as Nana, Nia Otchere-Sarfo as Gifty, Jordan Rice as Mercy, Tony nominee Jasmine Amy Rogers as Ericka, and Obie Award winner Heather Alicia Simms as Headmistress Francis.
School Girls takes place at a Ghanaian all-girls boarding school in 1986, when queen bee Paulina’s near-guaranteed win at an upcoming pageant is threatened by the arrival of an American transfer student. The show previously debuted off Broadway with MCC Theater in 2017.
As previously announced, Tony Award nominee Whitney White (Liberation, Bioh’s Jaja’s African Hair Braiding) directs. The School Girls creative team also includes set designer Teresa L. Williams, costume designer Qween Jean, lighting designer Stacey Derosier, sound designer Cody Spencer, dialect coach Dawn-Elin Fraser, and wig, hair, and makeup designer Nikiya Mathis.
Check back for information on School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play tickets on New York Theatre Guide.
Photo credit: Jasmine Amy Rogers, Denée Benton, and Patina Miller. (Rogers photo by Nicole Wilson; Benton photo by Monica Schipper; Miller photo by Victoria Stevens)