Jocelyn Bioh’s School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play — Review

“Equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking!”

We all know those high school girls who were a part of the “it” crowd. They had the looks, the confidence, the boy, and the seemingly perfect life. The identity of the popular girl isn’t just an American issue— it’s an identity that exists all around the globe.

MCC Theater’s School Girls; or, the African Mean Girls Play, which re-opened on Monday evening at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, truly lives up to its name as a highly entertaining comedy that takes an all-too-familiar American concept and shows how universal it indeed is.

In this case, the show is set at Aburi Girls’ Senior High School in Ghana in 1986. The Queen Bee of the school, Paulina Sarpong (MaameYaa Boafo), makes her status known both in what she says and how she says it. “So…do you want to be fat-fat? Or fit and popular?” she asks her larger-sized classmate and “best friend” Nana (Abena Mensah-Bonsu). Nana immediately exchanges her porridge for an apple, which is a “good source of fiber,” according to Paulina. The other members of the popular clique go along with Paulina’s cruel words with laughs and cosigns, while she’s around, but prove they are more than cold-hearted pawns the moment she leaves.

The big event at hand is competing to become Miss Ghana 1986, a competition that Paulina is sure to win, as the other girls don’t stand a chance. In addition to the shy Nana, there is Mercy (Mirirai Sithole) and her cousin Gifty (Paige Gilbert), the hilariously-witty duo that are considered “average beauties,” and Ama (Latoya Edwards), who is smart, sensible, and utterly uninterested in the pageant.

While it seems like Paulina is the perfect pageant girl, her dominance is threatened when a new girl enters the scene. The charming mixed-race Ericka (Joanna A. Jones) wins the other girls over with her lotions, hair products, concert stories, and lighter skin, much to Paulina’s dismay. Ericka’s arrival threatens Paulina’s chances at winning Miss Ghana 1986, and quickly Paulina proves that she’ll do just about anything to win.

Eloise (Zenzi Williams), the recruiter for the Global Universe Pageant and former Miss Ghana 1966 (which she never fails to let the audience nor the girls forget), wants to find a girl to represent Ghana well and will appeal to a “wider” audience—a girl with lighter skin. No stranger to the effects of colorism herself, Eloise is hellbent on having Ghana showcased on the universal stage. It helps that if her selected girl is chosen, she gets a raise and the all-girls school gets some extra cash. It’s a proposal that looks too good to pass up for Headmistress Francis (Myra Lucretia Taylor); after all, the school could use the money.

While Headmistress knows how much this opportunity would mean to Paulina, it’s no secret that Ericka is the clear frontrunner, at least in Eloise’s eyes. Tensions rise as the audition approaches, secrets are spilled, and identities are stripped and exposed for what they truly are. The play’s most potent moments lie with Paulina and Ericka, whose well-crafted personas start to unravel as truths are revealed.

Playwright Jocelyn Bioh, an actor and a writer in her own right, gives room for the characters to grow without completely vilifying our lead character or making her a victim of her decisions. Paulina could quickly be the bitch for which audiences hold no sympathy, but it’s in both Boafo’s excellent acting choices and Bioh’s complex writing that leads the audience to appreciate the intricacies of humanity—her humanity. It’s no surprise her mean girl persona stems from her deep insecurities, which leads her to realize she may have more in common with Ericka than she thought. Very much like life offstage, she has to deal with the consequences of her actions. Bioh gives the audience a small glimpse into the life of a teenage girl struggling with her own identify and place in her school’s hierarchy. The audience almost forgets that the show only takes place in a single cafeteria; the characters allow the world to feel so much more substantial.

“School Girls” is a well-paced, rewarding ensemble show that is equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking in its 75-minutes. (Seriously, 75-minutes was perfect; more plays should take note that you can tell a good story without having us there for hours). A show like this always gets us wondering, where are the Black female playwrights on Broadway? It’s false to say they don’t exist when countless Black women are doing the work without getting the platform they deserve. Jocelyn Bioh and the cast are doing more with their 75-minute play than some 2+ hour shows do with their stunt casting and mediocre writing.

So, what are you waiting for, Broadway?