Late girlhood has a sacredness that can’t be replicated. It’s a particular time in life between innocence and adulting, allowing young women to swing between the two. Jocelyn Bioh’s sensational play, “School Girls; or, the African Mean Girls Play,” captures this magic and anguish, set against the specificity of mid-1980s Ghana. Directed by Whitney White, who also helmed Bioh’s Tony-nominated “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding” three years ago, “School Girls” is an uproariously funny and heartbreaking portrait of sisterhood framed by the consequences of colonialism, anti-Blackness, and colorism. In just 75 minutes, “School Girls” captures what it means to be Black and female across time, space and place.
“School Girls; or, the African Mean Girls Play” opens in the Aburi Mountains of central Ghana in 1986, at the Aburi Girls Boarding School. With Bobby Brown’s “Every Little Step” floating through the boom box, the audience meets the kind-hearted Ama (Lucia Aremu), who is eager to finish her studies and wed her longtime beau. Mercy (Jordan Rice) and her cousin Gifty (Nia Otchere-Sarfo) are witty and carefree, focused on convincing Mercy’s physician father to buy them the latest Nikes. Then there is Nana (Erin Morton), sweet as pie and a newcomer to the group. Nana is focused on getting into university, but her larger body makes her a target for bullies. The queen bee of the group is Paulina (a sensational Denée Benton), who rambles on about her American cousins and her pro-football player boyfriend Kofi, whom no one has actually met. Self-absorbed and vicious, Paulina wields her cruelty toward all the girls (particularly Nana) as if it were a weapon. Her barbs are sharp enough to bring even Regina George to tears.
Though Paulina typically spends her days belittling her friends and humiliating Nana, presently, her focus is on something grander. With the blessing of the shrewd but motherly Headmistress Francis (Heather Alicia Simms), Paulina has decided to compete in the Miss Ghana 1986 pageant, hoping to reach the Miss Universe competition. Paulina even allows the other girls (except Nana) to throw their hats in the ring. However, when a new American Ghanaian student, Ericka Boafo (Jasmine Amy Rogers), enrolls in the second week of school, Paulina quickly realizes her dreams may be much further out of reach than she expected. Possessing a Midwestern accent, Calvin Klein dresses, Black American skin and hair care products, and a butter-pecan skin tone, Ericka quickly wins over the crew Paulina has ruled for years. Desperate to regain her dominance while dazzling pageant recruiter Eloise Amponsah (Tony Award winner Patina Miller), who was Miss Ghana 1966, Paulina launches a campaign to crush Ericka’s spirit and dash her chances in the spotlight.
In the boarding school’s clean but modest cafeteria with scenic design by Teresa L. Williams and lighting by Stacey Derosier, the girls laugh, weep and fuss over everything from their understanding of the fine-dining experience at White Castle to a deep-seated New Edition obsession. But beyond the humor and laugh-out-loud moments, the play conveys a deeper truth. Paulina, who appears poised and confident, is trapped in a swirl of self-loathing, clinging to damaging bleaching creams and lying about who she really is. Nana, in a bigger body, often tries to shrink herself in tone and timbre. Gifty, whimsical and fun, has dyslexia and is only willing to read in front of Mercy. Finally, Ericka has a shameful secret of her own, one that Paulina is determined to use against her.
Throughout most of the play, Tony-winning costume designer Qween Jean drapes the girls in the school’s green, orange and gold-toned uniforms. However, for their audition with Eloise, who comes elegantly dressed in Western fabrics, as if she were Dominique Deveraux, and a practiced accent to match, the girls are transformed in bold, glittering dresses of the era, encapsulating their transition into womanhood. Moreover, the contrast between Paulina and Eloise shows who Paulina might become and the cost of getting there.
“School Girls; or, the African Mean Girls Play” is a joyous and gutting play centering the treasure of Black sisterhood, exceptionalism and the pain and anguish of putting your best foot forward and still falling short of someone much less qualified. It is an ever-timely examination of what it is to be a Black woman or girl in a world that constantly labels you as unworthy. With exceptional performances from the entire cast and homages to musical legends like Whitney Houston and Janet Jackson, Bioh and White present a reflection of the Black female experience in all of its dazzling idiosyncrasies, triumphs and pains.