School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play review – comedy makes a near-flawless Broadway debut

Nearly a decade after it was first staged, Jocelyn Bioh’s study of girlhood in 1980s Ghana is better than ever in irresistible new production After its 2017 premiere off-Broadway, School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play transferred to Los Angeles, was remounted in New York the following year, and has since been staged in over 75 theaters across the US, plus a successful run in London .

It’s easy to see why – Jocelyn Bioh ’s one-act comedy has a familiar structure, richly detailed characters, and an onslaught of delicious barbs. Plus it has the good sense of an 80-minute runtime. Its splendid Broadway debut is not content with being a mere victory lap, though, in a freshly glorious production helmed by Whitney White. Having staged Bioh’s Tony-winning Jaja’s African Hair Braiding…