Jaja's African Hair Braiding Reviews

The Boston Globe - Highly Recommended

"...Directed by Summer L. Williams, with a 10-member cast navigating rapid-fire crosscurrents of conversation and, sometimes, conflict, SpeakEasy Stage Company’s vibrantly alive production offers a showcase of ensemble acting at its best."

WBUR - Highly Recommended

"...Director Summer L. Williams gives each member of her ensemble room to make the character their own, while making sure they react and support each other. (When James shows up, the collective eye roll is almost audible, and all the braiders seem to hold their breath when he asks Aminata for money.) Williams, who also directed Bioh’s "School Girls; or, the African Mean Girls Play" at SpeakEasy in 2019, knows how to balance these individual stories with the flow of the salon day and the overarching theme of community."

Joyce's Choices - Highly Recommended

"...It's THE BEST SHOW IN TOWN right now: JAJA'S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING the Tony-nominated New England premiere now onstage. Presented by SpeakEasy Stage at the Calderwood, this comedy /drama by Jocelyn Bioh hits home at a hair salon on a hot Harlem summer day. Summer L.Williams directs an exceptional cast: Crystin Gilmore, MarHadoo Effeh, Kwezi Shongwe, Catia, Hampton Richards, with several playing multi roles: Ashley Aldarondo, Yasmeen Duncan. They spend the day together on one terrifically detailed set by Janie E. Howland as hair is braided and their lives unwind."

Stage and Cinema - Highly Recommended

"...Director Summer L. Williams brings a uplifting and inspiring production of up-and-coming playwright Jocelyn Bioh's Tony-nominated Jaja's African Hair Braiding to the SpeakEasy Stage. An ensemble cast of ten portrays seventeen roles, with the five women who work in the hair braiding salon at the center of the action."

The Arts Fuse - Highly Recommended

"...The banter in the shop is fast and often hilarious, the women sharing seriocomic glimpses into their lives. At one point, Aminata changes the TV channel to Netflix and one of the popular Nigerian soap operas comes on — everyone at the salon stops and watches, fixated for a moment on a ‘Nollywood’ tale. In another scene, Jennifer teases out Miriam’s story. She has a young daughter she left in Sierra Leone, and the woman desperately wants to get back there and bring her to the U.S."

New England Theater Mirror - Highly Recommended

"...On its surface, Jaja's African Hair Braiding, now being presented by the Speakeasy Stage Company, is a bubbly slice of life comedy. Set in a women's hair salon in Harlem that specializes in African hair braiding, the play offers a glimpse into the lives of a half-dozen West African women who work at the salon and their American customers. But bubbling just under the surface is a much weightier concern, one that has become increasingly relevant since the play debuted on Broadway in 2023 and has dominated recent headlines."

METR Mag - Highly Recommended

"...You will definitely want to make an appointment to visit the SpeakEasy Stage to see the charming and engaging play, "JAJA'S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING" which closes out a fabulous 2024-2025 season."

On Boston Stages - Highly Recommended

"..."Jaja," which earned five Tony nominations on Broadway in 2023, is a warm-hearted, upbeat look at the happenings in the course of one hot summer day in July, 2019. Customers will come and go, friendships will be broken and repaired, all against the backdrop of the impending marriage of salon owner Jaja (MaConnia Chesser) to a white man that should guarantee her a green card and the ability to stay in the United Staes."