2/20/2024 0 Comments Awa braiding![]() Marie went to a private school, where she got great grades and ran circles around her more stably situated peers. To Jaja’s daughter, Marie (Dominique Thorn), who minds the shop and tends to its administrative business, Jaja is a mother with high standards. ![]() Jaja and Steven are getting married on this day he’s a well-off-sounding white man, and she’s an undocumented immigrant from Senegal. They take turns affectionately mocking how she says her fiancé Steven’s name-a bit froggy in the throat, the “v” tending toward an “f,” both vowel sounds braggadociously distended. To Bea (Zenzi Williams) and Aminata (Nana Mensah), she’s a demanding boss with a proud streak. She’s described by her employees in the course of a long day in 2019 at the Harlem shop over which she lovingly lords. But, before we ever see her, a portrait emerges. The episode also highlights a Black Theatre Coalition/Broadway Across America Fellowship opportunity.Jaja (Somi Kakoma), the title character of Jocelyn Bioh’s new play, “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding,” doesn’t show up onstage until the show’s nearly over. Beth Stevens speaks with “Shucked” songwriting team Shane McAnally and Brandy Clark. Paul Wontorek sits down with “A Beautiful Noise” star Robyn Hurder. ![]() This week’s episode of “The Broadway Show” also features an interview with Jason Alexander, who recently marked his Broadway directorial debut with “The Cottage.” Charlie Cooper walks and talks with “Back to the Future” star Liana Hunt. “These are the people that keep us running.” “These are the people that make the city what it is,” said actor Dominique Thorne. “I hope that it just asks people to be more measured in the ways in which they extend grace and humanity to other people,” Kakoma said. “The fact that somebody can come into a braid shop and have their hair done, leave feeling fabulous… Think about all the ways that people help us look our best and how we kind of take it for granted. “I really hope that people also really meditate on the dignity of otherness,” actor Somi Kakoma, who will play Jaja, added. Williams continued, “I just hope that people begin to realize just how important are.” If you see a Black woman with their hair braided, that woman who did her braids it’s ancestry. “They are giving, loving women who are a part of this culture. “These women exist,” said actor Zenzi Williams. The full company hopes that the title of the play will attract audiences who work and frequent salon’s like Jaja’s - so they can see themselves as part of theater - as well as folks who have never encountered a braiding salon - so they can learn about this corner of society. I just wanted to be a part of cultivating the audience that would come in.” ![]() I need to be a part of helping to bring this vibrant story, this vibrant community to life. After hearing the title and reading the script, LaChanze recalled, “I immediately thought, ‘I need to be a part of promoting this show. Tony Award-winning performer and producer LaChanze joined the show’s producing team in July. “A lot can happen in a braiding salon in one day.” Indeed, in “Jaja’s,” love blooms, dreams unfurl and secrets are uncovered that force the community to grapple with what it means to be outsiders in the place they call home. “This play, it takes place over one full day,” actor Rachel Christopher explained. “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding” centers around a group of West African immigrant hair braiders and their customers in a Harlem salon. In this week’s episode of “The Broadway Show with Tamsen Fadal,” company members describe the unique world audiences will glimpse when they attend the new dramedy. The play, which marks the Main Stem debut of writer Jocelyn Bioh, is the first production of Manhattan Theatre Club’s 2023-2024 Broadway season. The world-premiere production of “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding” is set to open at the Samuel J.
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