Before select Saturday & Sunday performances, join us for scholarly conversations led by Martine Kei Green‑Rogers, Ph.D. and Deon Custard that examine the play & interpretive choices made by the director & creative team.
JAN 14 - FEB 2, 2025
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Lead Production Sponsor
JAN 14 - FEB 2, 2025
Written by Jocelyn Bioh
Directed by Whitney White
The Yard
Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
Written by Jocelyn Bioh
Directed by Whitney White
The Yard
NYT Critics Pick: “Hot & hilarious. A buffet of delights”
“Brilliant. A powerful tale about joy, dreams, community, and sisterhood.”
Straight from a twice-extended Broadway run, making its Regional Premiere. This comedic play offers a glimpse into the lives of a group of West African immigrant women who find community in a Harlem hair salon. Over the course of a sweltering summer day, love blossoms, dreams flourish, and secrets are revealed. Uncertainty simmers below the surface, and when it boils over, this tight-knit community is forced to confront what it means to be an outsider on the edge of the place they call home.
“I am thrilled and honored that audiences beyond Broadway will get to come to ‘the shop’ and meet the vibrant women of Jaja’s African Hair Braiding,” says acclaimed playwright Jocelyn Bioh. “This play means so much to me as both a native New Yorker and as a first-generation Ghanaian American as it speaks to the heart of what makes our country so beautifully unique: its rich diversity of people and culture. There is a real universality to these women’s experiences, and I can’t wait for audiences to connect and fall in love with each of them.”
Students, young professionals, and theater lovers under age 30 can sign up for $30 Under 30 to access world‑class theater at an everyday price.
SUN, JAN 26
WED, JAN 29
THU, JAN 30
SUN, JAN 26
WED, JAN 29
THU, JAN 30
SUN, JAN 26
WED, JAN 29
THU, JAN 30
“An overwhelmingly affectionate portrait of Black female joy.”
“Laugh-out-loud hilarious, authentic and engaging”
Artists
Leovina Charles
Vanessa, Sheila, Radia
Victoire Charles
Jaja
Yao Dogbe
James, Franklin, Olu, Eric
Mia Ellis
Jennifer
Tiffany Renee Johnson
Aminata
Jordan Rice
Marie
Awa Sal Secka
Bea
Aisha Sougou
Ndidi
Bisserat Tseggai
Miriam
Onye Eme-Akwari
Nollywood Dreams Actor
Morgan Scott
Nollywood Dreams Actor
Renea S. Brown
Understudy
Debora Crabbe
Understudy
Leovina Charles
Vanessa, Sheila, Radia
Victoire Charles
Jaja
Yao Dogbe
James, Franklin, Olu, Eric
Mia Ellis
Jennifer
Tiffany Renee Johnson
Aminata
Jordan Rice
Marie
Awa Sal Secka
Bea
Aisha Sougou
Ndidi
Bisserat Tseggai
Miriam
Onye Eme-Akwari
Nollywood Dreams Actor
Morgan Scott
Nollywood Dreams Actor
Renea S. Brown
Understudy
Debora Crabbe
Understudy
Jocelyn Bioh
Playwright
Whitney White
Director
David Zinn
Set Designer
Dede Ayite
Costume Designer
Jiyoun Chang
Lighting Designer
Justin Ellington
Original Music and Sound Designer
Stefania Bulbarella
Video Designer
Nikiya Mathis
Hair and Wig Designer
Spotlight
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Lead Production Sponsor
