There’s no place like home…unless you’re in Harlem where your dreams could come true.
Dramatists Guild Hull-Warriner Award winner and Ghanaian-American playwright, Jocelyn Bioh, brings another beauty to Broadway with her newest play that tells the story and plight of West African immigrant women and their families as they work Jaja’s Hair Braiding Salon in central Harlem.
In fact, Bioh is the first Black playwright to grace Broadway since 1991. It’s what makes this story even more special, backed and produced by Black legendary actress, Taraji P. Henson, and other notable Black producing partners, LaChanze and Madison Wells.
I admire this play for a couple of reasons: 1) Bringing back the nostalgia of my childhood and 2) Being relatable to the struggle of people searching for the American Dream—whether you were born here or not.
When I was a ten-year-old girl, I remember my mom taking me to my first braiding appointment at an African braiding salon called Kadija Hair Braiding on Franklin Avenue in Brooklyn, New York. The atmosphere was two things: Lively and busy. The women were flamboyantly uttering a language that I was unfamiliar with. The owner, Kadija, was fussing at her employees for arriving late and taking their time to eat instead of start work. I couldn’t blame them as the food smelled of foreign yet delicious spices I’d never tasted.
I was sitting in my chair getting individual braids, so I was there for a while, and as the day progressed, the commotion continued. The loud talking continued. The busyness continued. There were plenty of men and women that came in, out, and all throughout the shop, talking and trying to sell their goods, from wallets to clothes like hats and socks. I was there for so long, I remember dosing in and out of sleep as I tried to watch some of the shows playing on TV, or overhear the sucking of teeth and rolling of eyes from some of the braiders while talking about grown folks gossip I probably shouldn’t have heard.
This childhood memory instantly came rushing to my mind as I saw the opening set of Jaja’s African Hair Braiding. The women were loud, but colorful, vibrant, and full of passion and life:
- Jaja, the Senegal born and ambitious owner of the titular braiding salon with high hopes to live with financial security.
- Marie, her young daughter and equally ambitious as a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) student and aspiring writer.
- Bea, Jaja’s most loyal braider who has worked with her since the salon opened, and yearns to open her own shop.
- Miriam, Marie’s friend and fellow braider from Sierra Leone who has a daughter she desires to move to America with her.
- Aminata, another skilled braider yet she struggles to keep her marriage together.
These women were no doubt inspired by the real life West African women who braid art onto the heads of their customers of NYC.
As I sat in the second row in 101BB (super close to the stage—too close as I had to look up at the stage), the play pulled me back into the world of the West African women in these salons, and more specifically into Jaja’s, the owner, world. The play begins on the day Jaja is getting married to a white man named Stephen in hopes for a better life in America. Marie, her daughter, runs the shop with her yet she aspires to be a writer one day…even though her culturally stricken mother wants her to be a prestigious doctor or attorney—anything that earns her six-figures or more so she can live the American Dream as Jaja sees it.
Yet as valedictorian of her class, Marie has the career potential to be whoever she chooses, but her finances hold her back from being able to afford the schools of her choosing, among other challenges caused by her immigration status. Jaja’s African Hair Braiding does an excellent job at portraying the mindsets of both mother and child, their wrongs and their rights, as they search for a slice of the good life.
It spoke volumes how each woman knew her passion before they made the move to America where they decided to make it a reality and start their businesses. There’s just something about turning your passion into profit that requires some big transitions.
As a woman who left behind her corporate job to start her business, it’s never as simple as waking up in the morning and deciding to change your life. Quitting a good paying job or walking away from people who may be holding back are always tough decisions, and yet I saw so much of myself in this play as the women on stage showed how much tenacity and passion it takes to find yourself and live not the American Dream, but your dream.
While I loved the play, my biggest cons were the play was too short with several cliffhangers that didn’t get resolved before the curtains closed, as well as the limited view with my seat in the smallish theater.
Overall, I rate this lovely play as an A-. Yet If you haven’t seen Jaja’s African Hair Braiding yet, I recommend you do yourself a favor and watch!
The show is airing on Broadway at the Manhattan Theatre Club and on live stream until 11/19. Click here to buy tickets ($189.00 per person on Broadway or $69.00 on live stream): Don’t forget to use the promo code JJWELCOME for a discount.