Queen bees compete for pageant crown in Goodman s School Girls; Or The African Mean Girls Play dailyherald.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailyherald.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Live, in-person theater has returned to Goodman Theatre. And it could also be said that school s back in session. After nearly 17 months, Jocelyn Bioh s SCHOOL GIRLS; OR, THE AFRICAN MEAN GIRLS PLAY has finally opened. The production radiates Black girl joy. After such a long wait, it s particularly magical to see this uproariously funny but also tender play that puts young Black women right at its center.
SCHOOL GIRLS takes place in 1986 at the Aburi Girls Secondary School in Ghana as we are introduced to the school s reigning clique. Director Lili-Anne Brown diretcts a top-notch ensemble that includes the biting Paulina Sarpong (Ciera Dawn) as the Queen Bee. Paulina is flanked by the whip-smart Ama (Adhana Reid), who tries to call her out, Gifty (Adia Alli), Mercy (Tiffany Renee Johnson), and the shy Nana (Ashley Crowe), who is known to hide contraband snacks in her school uniform. In the play s early scenes, Bioh follows the structure of iconic teen girl films like MEAN GIRLS a