Photos & Video: The Museum of Broadway Celebrates JAJA'S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING

Following a successful creative conversation event featuring Jaja’s African Hair Braiding’s Tony Award-nominated playwright Jocelyn Bioh and Tony Award-nominated director  Whitney White at the Museum of Broadway, four wigs from the five-time Tony Award nominated play have been added to the museum’s impressive collection of costumes, artifacts, props, and other rarities spanning centuries of groundbreaking Broadway history. Designed by 2024 Special Tony Award for Excellence recipient, Nikyia Mathis, the wigs are now on display for visitors to see. 

See photos and videos from the creative conversation below! 

The creative conversation featuring Bioh and White, moderated by Susan Kelechi Watson (“This is Us”), took place on Tuesday, May 21, 2024. The creative team discussed Jaja’s groundbreaking Broadway run, the upcoming three-city tour, and their historic Tony Award nominations. Bioh, the seventh Black woman ever to be nominated in her category, and White, the fifth in the history of the American theater – both have the opportunity to be the first Black females to win their respective awards. 

“What does it mean for me to have had Jaja’s African Hair Braiding debut on Broadway? It means everything. We don't really get opportunities like this,” said playwright Jocelyn Bioh during the panel conversation. “When you look at the facts of how many Black playwrights have been able to debut a play cold on Broadway, it's very few. We were shocked to learn that the last time this has happened was 1991. And so, it's important that we have opportunities like this because of that fact and it’s why we took the play so seriously. We have to show up and be excellent – otherwise it'll just get dismissed. And so it meant everything.”

Jaja’s African Hair Braiding made its world premiere on Broadway at Manhattan Theatre Club’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on September 12, 2024 with an official opening night of October 3, 2024. The limited-run play closed on November 19, 2024 after two extensions. The critically acclaimed play will embark on a multi-city tour beginning this fall with planned stops at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C (September 6).; Berkeley Repertory Theatre in California (November 8), and Chicago Shakespeare Theater in Chicago (January 14, 2025) with casting to be announced. 

Jaja’s African Hair Braiding welcomes you into Jaja’s bustling hair braiding salon in Harlem where every day, a lively and eclectic group of West African immigrant hair braiders are creating masterpieces on the heads of neighborhood women. During one sweltering summer day, love will blossom, dreams will flourish and secrets will be revealed. The uncertainty of their circumstances simmers below the surface of their lives and when it boils over, it forces this tight-knit community to confront what it means to be an outsider on the edge of the place they call home. 

The Broadway cast of Jaja’s African Hair Braiding featured Brittany Adebumola as Miriam, Maechi Aharanwa as Ndidi, Rachel Christopher as Jennifer, Kalyne Coleman as Chrissy/Michelle/LaNiece, Somi Kakoma as Jaja, Lakisha May as Vanessa/Radia/Sheila, Nana Mensah as Aminata, Michael Oloyede as James/Sock Man/DVD Man/Jewelry Man, Dominique Thorne as Marie, and Zenzi Williams as Bea with understudies Victoire Charles, Abigail C. Onwunali, Onye Eme-Akwari, Morgan Scott, and Rachel Christopher.

The production featured scenic design by David Zinn, costume design by Dede Ayite, lighting design by Jiyoun Chang, original music and sound design by Justin Ellington, video design by Stefania Bulbarella, and hair and wig design by Nikiya Mathis. Dawn-Elin Fraser was the dialect and voice coach, and Melanie J. Lisby was production stage manager.

Jaja’s African Hair Braiding is nominated for five 2024 Tony Awards, including Best Play, Best Direction of a Play (White), Best Scenic Design of a Play (Zinn), Best Costume Design of a Play (Ayite), Best Sound Design of a Play (Ellington). Nikiya Mathis is the recipient of a special 2024 Tony Award for her Hair and Wig Designs.