Review: JAJA’S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING at Chicago Shakespeare Theater

With JAJA’S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING, Jocelyn Bioh pulls off a challenging theatrical feat: She makes a slice-of-life play consistently engaging and entertaining. Set in Harlem at a hair salon of the same name, JAJA’S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING follows a group of West African immigrant women working there — along with some of their customers. Bioh has populated her play with a cast of big personalities and peppers in just enough of The Stylists’ backstories to allow us to learn more about them. Director Whitney White has assembled an ensemble that easily brings the play to charming life (Chicago audiences might notice Melanie Brezill and Tiffany Renee Johnson among them, in particular).

This is a tour of sorts based on the original Broadway production, as it will travel to other regional theaters following this run at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. David Zinn’s stunning and realistic salon set has made its way on tour, alongside Nikiya Mathis’s necessarily impeccable and detailed hair and wig designs. Suffice it to say it’d be hard to pull off JAJA’S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING without excellent hairstyles. I also appreciated that a menu featuring different braid styles flanked Zinn’s salon set — this was a nice educational touch for audiences without veering into the didactic. 

The entire play takes place on a single day in the salon as braiders and customers weave in and out of the space. The ensemble members have great rapport and have a sense of ease when delivering Bioh’s dialogue, even when it’s rapid fire. Brazil and Leovina Charles take on extra challenges in portraying various customers, but both actors give each of their roles a unique energy. Jordan Rice is equal parts lively and slightly exasperated as Jaja’s daughter Marie, who runs the salon’s operations, and as a recent high school graduate, has her adult future looming before her. Rice comes scurrying into the salon at the top of the play, as Marie haphazardly relays the morning’s events to her coworker Miriam (Bisserat Tseggai, soft-spoken and grounded but never boring). As you might surmise by her name, Bea (Awal Sal Secka) is the veritable “Queen Bee” and self-identified elder of the salon; it’s clear Bea wants to be calling the shots. Secka has a boisterous and rambunctious energy as Bea; she’s incredibly gifted at portraying her character’s dominance but she leaves space for her fellow actors to go toe-to-toe. Bea’s bossy energy is matched by her more low-key but still persistent rival Ndidi (Aisha Sougou) and long-term stylist and close friend Aminata (Johnson). And when Jaja herself appears towards the end, Victorie Charles makes it imminently clear who’s really in charge. Mia Ellis has a gentle delivery as customer Jennifer and Yao Dogbe plays a number of different vendors who hawk their wares at the salon (and, namely, he’s the only man in the room).

Bioh’s script effortlessly switches between conversations among the women at the salons, which means it’s never boring. I appreciate too that the initial scope of JAJA’S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING is contained and not grandiose: It’s just another day at the salon, but Bioh’s rich characters and their gossip and life stories offer us plenty. A late twist in the play seems like too much of a button and has an unnecessary serious and jarring tonal shift. This play really stands on its own as a celebration of the lives of these West African immigrant women and the friendships and rivalries they’ve built at the salon. I don’t think the play needed an inciting event to seal the deal; the quotidian and intimate approach of the salon’s daily proceedings were enough action on their own.

JAJA’S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING plays in the Yard at Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier through February 2, 2025. 

Photo Credit: T Charles Erickson

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