The Tony-Winning Comedy Direct from Broadway
Jaja’s African Hair Braiding
September 6 – October 13, 2024
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Credits
By Jocelyn Bioh
Directed by Whitney White
A Co-Production with Berkeley Repertory Theatre and Chicago Shakespeare Theater
In Association with Madison Wells Live and LaChanze -
Location
Kreeger Theater
"Bioh's braided world of teeth sucking, sideways comments and dance breaks is rapturous."
Step into the vibrant world of Jaja's African Hair Braiding, a riotously funny yet deeply resonant play by Jocelyn Bioh. Set in the pulsating heart of Harlem, this comedic gem unravels the complexities of cultural identity, assimilation, and the pursuit of the American Dream within the African immigrant community. Follow the uproarious escapades of Maria, Bea, Miriam, Aminata, Ndidi, Jaja, and others as they navigate life and laughter in Jaja's bustling hair braiding salon. With humor as rich as its characters, this Tony Award-winning production weaves hilarious moments with profound insights, celebrating the indomitable spirit and interconnectedness that define us all.
Cast
MELANIE BREZILL
VICTOIRE CHARLES
YAO DOGBE
MIA ELLIS
TIFFANY RENEE JOHNSON
COLBY N. MUHAMMAD
JORDAN RICE
AWA SAL SECKA
AISHA SOUGOU
BISSERAT TSEGGAI
MELANIE BREZILL
Melanie Brezill (Michelle/Chrissy/LaNiece)is thrilled to be making her Arena Stage debut! Broadway and National Tour: The Book of Mormon, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Mamma Mia!. Select Regional Stokely: The Unfinished Revolution, for colored girls..., Man in the Ring, Caroline, or Change (Court Theatre); Beautiful, Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story (Marriott Theatre); The Comedy of Errors at Shepperton, As You Like it (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); Nina Simone: Four Women (Northlight Theatre); Little Shop of Horrors (Drury Lane Oakbrook Theatre); Crowns (Goodman Theatre); The MLK Project (Writers Theatre). TV/Film: Reporting for Christmas, Empire. Melanie is the creator of The Grandmother Project and Pearls & Pocketbooks series on YouTube. She would like to thank her family, friends, and Stewart Talent for their support! Instagram: @shinegirlshine, @thegrandmotherproject
VICTOIRE CHARLES
Victoire Charles (Jaja) Theatre: Golden Age (MTC), Ruined (MTC, Intiman and Geffen Playhouse), Moby Dick Rehearsed and The Tempest (The Acting Company, Group 35), Intimate Apparel (Portland Stage Company), The Trojan Women (Alabama Shakespeare Festival), The Comedy of Errors (Shakespeare Theatre Company, DC). TV: New Amsterdam (NBC), FBI (CBS), Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin and the upcoming Pretty Little Liars: Summer School (MAX). Training: Fordham College at Lincoln Center and the NYU Grad Acting Program.
YAO DOGBE
Yao Dogbe (James/Franklin/Olu/Eric) is overjoyed to be making his debut at Arena Stage. Select DC credits include Topdog/Underdog, Nollywood Dreams, Ohio State Murders (Round House Theatre) and King Lear (Shakespeare Theatre Company). Off-Broadway: The Doctor (Park Avenue Armory); Nollywood Dreams (MCC Theater). Regional: Richard III, Twelfth Night, Measure for Measure, Macbeth (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); Fences (American Players Theatre); Fly (Capital Repertory Theatre); Intimate Apparel (Northlight Theatre); Routes (Remy Bumppo Theatre Company); Cymbeline (Utah Shakespeare Festival). Tours: Othello (Montana Shakespeare in the Parks). Yao is a first-generation Ghanaian American actor and an activist for African cultural and dialectical authenticity on stage and film for the African diaspora. TV/Film: Yao currently has an AutoZone commercial nationwide. MFA Acting, University of Houston. Instagram: @yaonation
MIA ELLIS
Mia Ellis (Jennifer / u/s Michelle/Chrissy/LaNiece) was born and raised in Mississippi where she attended Tougaloo College. She received her MFA in Acting from Brown University/Trinity Rep. Select Regional: The Amen Corner (Shakespeare Theatre Company); Fairview, The Mountaintop, Intimate Apparel, Ragtime (Trinity Rep); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Alabama Shakespeare Festival); A Raisin in the Sun (Seattle Rep); Hamlet (Santa Cruz Shakespeare). TV/Film: The Good Fight, Elementary, Person of Interest, Welcome to the Blumhouse Live, Louder Than Words, Lavender Men. Mia is also a teaching artist, writer, producer, and a member of the Acting Company at Trinity Rep. She loves snow, classical music, animation, and sends a special thanks to Linda, Semoune, and L.B. Instagram: @ellismia09. Website: miaellis.com
TIFFANY RENEE JOHNSON
Tiffany Renee Johnson (Aminata) is excited to make her Arena Stage debut! She’s a proud Chicago native and Howard alum and is so glad to be back in DC. Some of Tiffany’s favorite regional credits include Blues for an Alabama Sky (Remy Bumppo Theatre - Core Ensemble Member), Chlorine Sky (Steppenwolf Theatre), School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play (Goodman Theatre), Red Velvet (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), The Garbologists (Northlight Theatre), and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Writers Theatre). Her TV/film credits include Shameless and The Chi (Showtime); Chicago PD and Chicago Med (NBC); Soundtrack (Hulu); and Range Runners (Amazon Prime). When Tiffany is not acting, she's writing for film and speaking to students. She gives God all the glory. Instagram: @tiffanyreneej_ Website: tiffanyreneejohnson.com
COLBY N. MUHAMMAD
Colby N. Muhammad (Vanessa/Sheila/Radia) is more than thrilled to make her Arena Stage debut with Jaja’s African Hair Braiding. Regional: Love All (La Jolla Playhouse), Pride and Prejudice (Chautauqua Theater Company). Educational Theatre: Romeo and Juliet, The Promise, Everybody, In the Red and Brown Water, Anything Goes, Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine. Education: MFA from UC San Diego. BFA from Howard University. Instagram: @colbynatasha Website: colbymuhammad.com
JORDAN RICE
Jordan Rice (Marie) is an actress, filmmaker, and content creator from Atlanta, GA. At age 11, Jordan made audiences hold their breath in her film debut as the last little girl on the screen during the church bombing scene in Ava DuVernay's Selma. Her other notable TV/film work includes playing Jackie Carson in the Apple TV+ series Swagger, Dylan in One True Loves, and Esme in the DC Universe's Doom Patrol. Her creative work garnered her recognition as a 2020 YoungArts Theatre Finalist and Winner and a 2021 U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts Semifinalist. Jordan is thrilled to continue developing her artistry and expanding the artistic space for more artists of color in the future. To follow her journey, follow her on Instagram: @actressjordanrice #ThatGirlBeActing
AWA SAL SECKA
Awa Sal Secka (Bea) is elated to be making her Arena Stage debut! You may have seen her as Sassy (After Midnight) at Paper Mill Playhouse or Zawadi (Goddess) at Berkeley Rep. Locally, you may have seen her as Sarah (Ragtime) at Signature Theatre, Joanne (RENT) at the Kennedy Center, as Mayme (Intimate Apparel) at Theater J, as the Baker's Wife (Into the Woods) at Ford's Theatre, or as Ama (School Girls) and Dottie (Caroline, or Change) at Round House Theatre. Awa is a Helen Hayes Award-winning actor and a co-writer for the 2023 MacArthur Award-winning show The Joy That Carries You. She is immeasurably grateful for her incredible agents at Nicolosi & Co., for her fiancé, and all her wonderful friends, family, and supporters, and especially for her mother, Fatou, who would be so proud to see her playing an African woman on stage. Instagram: @_kujichagulia_
AISHA SOUGOU
Aisha Sougou (Ndidi) was born and raised in Greensboro, North Carolina, the daughter of Senegalese immigrants. She recently graduated from the School of Drama at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Class of 2023. Her recent credits include Beehive, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, and Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! (Marriott Theatre). Aisha dedicates this performance to her mother and sisters, who taught her anything and everything she knows about hair.
BISSERAT TSEGGAI
Bisserat Tseggai (Miriam) is an Eritrean-American actor whose work in theater includes The Jungle at St. Ann's Warehouse and the Curran Theatre, and For All the Women Who Thought They Were Mad at Soho Rep. Her television credits include The Accidental Wolf, Seven Seconds, Succession, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Orange Is the New Black, Billions, Alternatino with Arturo Castro, Luke Cage, and Rival Speak. You can follow her @bisserat on all social media platforms.
Creative
JOCELYN BIOH
WHITNEY WHITE
DAVID ZINN
DEDE AYITE
JIYOUN CHANG
JUSTIN ELLINGTON
STEFANIA BULBARELLA
NIKIYA MATHIS
MANNA-SYMONE MIDDLEBROOKS
CAPARELLIOTIS CASTING, KELLY GILLESPIE, AND ERICA HART
MANDISA REED
JAMIE BERRY
JOCELYN BIOH
WHITNEY WHITE
DAVID ZINN
David Zinn (Set Designer) Recent work on Broadway includes set design for Stereophonic, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding and The Notebook; costume design for An Enemy of the People and set and costume design for Sondheim’s last musical Here We Are (The Shed, NY). Other Broadway: scenery for KIMBERLY AKIMBO, Funny Girl, The Minutes, Diana, Torch Song, and The Humans; scenery and costumes for the Spongebob Musical, Fun Home, Choir Boy, Amelie, and The Last Ship; and costumes for A Doll’s House Part 2, Other Desert Cities, The Vibrator Play and Xanadu. He’s also designed at Playwright’s Horizons, MTC, NYTW, Lincoln Center, 2d Stage, The Public. A.C.T., A.R.T., Berkeley Rep, The Guthrie, The Old Globe, La Jolla Playhouse, Seattle Rep, Santa Fe Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, National, Theatre, Young Vic, and The Hampstead (UK); Berlin Staatsoper and Theater Basel. He's received Tony, Drama Desk, Hewes and Obie awards for his work.
DEDE AYITE
JIYOUN CHANG
Jiyoun Chang (Lighting Designer) She is honored to be back second time to Arena Stage after Ride The Cyclone. She loves to work on new stories and adaptations that connects her to communities around her and share the deep understanding of them with the audience. Her credits on Broadway are Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, Stereophonic, The Cottage, KPOP Broadway, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf, Slave Play. Her other credits are at The Public, Roundabout, NYTW, MCC, Signature, ATC, Guggenheim, Alley Theatre, Alliance Theatre, Berkeley Rep, CalShakes, Guthrie, Old Globe, OSF. She is nominated numerous times for T, Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, Henry Hewes. She is a recipient of OBIE Award and Suzi Bass Award.
JUSTIN ELLINGTON
STEFANIA BULBARELLA
Stefania Bulbarella is a Projections Designer from Argentina based in NY. Broadway: Jaja's African Hair Braiding (MTC). Off Broadway: Space Dogs (MCC), Travels (Ars Nova), A Bright New Boise and The Watering Hole (Signature Theatre), Semblance (New York Theatre Workshop), amongst others. Nominations: 2024 Tony Nominee for her work in Jaja's African Hair Braiding. Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding Video/Projection Design for Space Dogs. Awards: Hola Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Theatrical Design for Vamonos. www.stefaniabulbarella.com
NIKIYA MATHIS
Nikiya Mathis is a multi-hyphenate actress and wig designer. She has originated roles in world-premiere plays, including Blood Quilt at Arena Stage, Off Broadway premieres include Tarell McCraney’s The Brother/Sister Plays, Dominique Morrisseau's Skeleton Crew, Kirsten Greenidge's Milk Like Sugar and Lynn Nottage's NY revival of Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine. She currently recurs as N’kiyah Franklin in Power Book III: Raising Kanan on Starz. Nikiya is the first wig designer to ever receive a special Tony Award– for her design of Jaja’s African Hair Braiding. She is an Obie Award Winner, Drama Desk Winner, Black Women on Broadway award winner, a Henry Hewes award winner. Nikiya's Broadway credits include: Home; The Heart of Rock & Roll; Once Upon A One More Time; Death of A Salesman; Top Dog/Underdog & Chicken & Biscuits. Her Off-Broadway credits include the current reinvisioning of Cats: The Jellicle Ball among others. @our_black_tresses @nikiyamathis
MANNA-SYMONE MIDDLEBROOKS
CAPARELLIOTIS CASTING, KELLY GILLESPIE, AND ERICA HART
MANDISA REED
JAMIE BERRY
Special Performance Notes
Southwest Nights
Tuesday, September 10 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, September 21 at 2 p.m.
Audio-Described Performance
Saturday, September 28, at 2 p.m.
ASL-Interpreted Performance
Saturday, October 5, at 8 p.m.
Mask-Required Performances
Saturday, September 14, at 2 p.m.
Tuesday, October 8, at 7:30 p.m.
Industry Night
Sunday, September 8, at 7:30 p.m.
Pride Night
Wednesday, September 11, at 7:30 p.m.
NPHC/Divine Nine Night
Thursday, September 19, at 8 p.m.
Ubiquitous Women’s Expo Exhibitor Booth Activation: Friday, September 6 – Sunday, September 8
Join us for the 10th Anniversary celebration of the Ubiquitous Women’s Expo—a vibrant space to connect across beauty, health, fashion, and lifestyle! Visit the Arena team at booth 407 as you enjoy the event. ubiquitousexpo.com
Civic Dialogues: CROWN Act: Friday, September 13
What is the CROWN Act and what actions can we collectively take to eradicate race-based hair discrimination in the workplace? Visit Arena during the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) week of events inviting civic conversations about the CROWN Act.
Jaja’s Marketplace: EmpowerHER Event: Saturday, September 21
Welcoming all entrepreneurs and beauty enthusiasts! See Arena transform into JaJa’s Marketplace where you can buy from local women-owned businesses and learn what it takes to own a business and effectively promote your brand. Between the matinee and evening show, Arena will host a dynamic panel discussion featuring powerful and bold women who have mastered the art of launching and scaling their businesses to make an impact in their communities.
Howard University Homecoming Kick-Off: Sunday, October 13
HU…U Know! Calling all Howard students, staff, and alumni to join us at Arena to kick off homecoming. Sport your favorite HU gear as you mingle alongside old and new faces before joining us for the evening performance. More information coming soon.