Denée Benton, Jasmine Amy Rogers and Patina Miller will star in the Broadway premiere of School Girls; Or The African Mean Girls Play.
The cast includes Erin Morton (Heathers The Musical), Lucia Aremu (Cold War Choir Practice), Nia Otchere-Sarfo (Murder Bot), Jordan Rice (Jaja’s African Hair Braiding tour) and Heather Alicia Simms (Purlie Victorious).
The play, written by Jocelyn Bioh, comes to Broadway after making its world premiere Off-Broadway in November 2017. Whitney White, a Tony nominee for Liberation, will direct the production at the Manhattan Theatre Club’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, with performances starting Sept. 8, ahead of a Sept. 28 opening.
The story follows a group of students at the Aburi Girls Boarding School in Ghana who are visited by a pageant recruiter (Miller) encouraging them to participate in the Miss Ghana 1986 pageant. The friend group, and its leader Paulina (Benton), are then consumed with preparation for the pageant. But a new transfer student from America (Rogers) threatens to take the crown.
Benton returns to Broadway after starring in Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812 and the 2022 revival of Into the Woods, alongside Miller, who is a Tony Award winner for Pippin. Both have appeared on screen, with Benton in a recurring role in the Gilded Age and Miller in Madam Secretary. Rogers is a Tony nominee for starring in Boop! The Musical last season. She’s currently starring in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee Off-Broadway.
Tony Award winner Qween Jean (Cats: The Jellicle Ball) has joined the production team as costume designer, with Teresa L. Williams as scenic designer, Stacey Derosier as lighting designer, Cody Spencer as sound designer and Nikiya Mathis as wig, hair and makeup designer.
Bioh and White previously teamed up on the 2023 world premiere of JaJa’s African Hair Braiding at the Manhattan Theatre Club.
The production is produced in association with Chase This Productions and Susan Kelechi Watson.
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