Jocelyn Bioh’s Jaja’s African Hair Braiding opens with the titular salon owner’s daughter, Marie (Aggie Williams), rushing to open her mother’s Harlem shop. It’s the day of Jaja’s (potentially green card-driven) wedding, and Marie is responsible for holding down the salon and managing its employees: a group of women, all of whom have emigrated from African countries and found work and community at Jaja’s.
One braider, Miriam (Kameron Cole), is already waiting when Marie arrives. From the first moments, the rapport on stage is electric, and the dialogue comes fast and fervently. Things don’t slow down for nearly the entire 90-minute runtime.
There is a musicality to Jaja’s, a rhythm that establishes itself in the back-and-forth between people who spend so much—in some cases too much—time talking with each other. The hair salon, where there is endless time to talk, is the perfect setting for this type of play. Jaja’s doesn’t follow a typical three-act structure, but rather flows between its characters, who gossip, argue, commiserate, joke, dance, and, of course, braid from opening to close.
The play’s levity, bolstered by a revolving door of demanding clients, shifts seamlessly into weighty moments. When gentle, unflappable Miriam tells a client about her adventure and heartbreak-filled past, or when Bea’s (Tiffany L. Harper) unreasonable temper cracks to expose genuine, longstanding resentment at Jaja (Brandis Outlaw) for excluding her from her business plans years ago, these moments hit especially hard in the midst of so much merriment. There is also an extreme tonal shift about 90% of the way through the show, and while the pacing of the script is perhaps a bit odd, the impact is undeniable.
Director Yetunde Felix-Ukwu does a phenomenal job managing the many moving parts of this show. The comedy is sharp, the characters distinct, and the poignancy hard-hitting. The dialect work is also impeccable. Dialect coach Jaqueline Springfield has done an exceptional job with characters whose origins span multiple distinct countries and regions.
Felix-Uwu has put together a remarkable cast (which, in addition to those already mentioned, includes Jordan Nevels and Amber Redding). Each one of the women in this shop feels completely whole. Every visitor to the salon—save for one customer (Dominique Liddell) who has settled in for an entire day of micro-braids—is played by one of just three actors: Autumn Tribitt, Jabrelle Herbin, and Robert Vardiman. Each is a comedic whirlwind, a burst of energy while keeping their characters distinct. Whitney Manney’s costumes and Tru Marshall’s (marvelous) hair design round out each character beautifully.
When Jaja’s African Hair Braiding debuted on Broadway in 2023, it was widely praised. The show got a slew of Tony nominations, winning two, including a special Tony Award for Hair and Wig Design. This production, from The Black Repertory Theatre of Kansas City, does incredible work with Bioh’s script, clearly approaching each character with care and respect while also having lots of fun—and making sure the audience has just as good a time.
“Jaja’s African Hair Braiding,” a production of The Black Repertory Theatre of Kansas City, runs through November 30 at Metropolitan Community College Penn Valley Campus, 3201 Southwest Trafficway. For more information, visit brtkc.org
