Cast Set for ‘School Girls’ at KDT –  New Play Will Open Sept. 2

Center Theatre Group has announced the casting for the hit MCC Theater production of “School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play” by Jocelyn Bioh. Directed by Rebecca Taichman, the production will begin previews September 2, open September 8 and continue through September 30, 2018, at the Kirk Douglas Theatre.

Jesse Green of The New York Times said, “The nasty-teen comedy genre emerges wonderfully refreshed and even deepened by its immersion in a world it never considered.” The New Yorker’s Hilton Als called Jocelyn Bioh “a latter-day Restoration comedian,” adding “‘School Girls’ comments on the times—in this case, on our fascinating era, in which so much debate centers on the body, especially the female body.” And, in his review in The Hollywood Reporter, Frank Scheck concluded, “‘School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play’ is a ferociously entertaining morality tale that proves as heartwarming as it is hilarious.”

The cast for “School Girls” includes, in alphabetical order, MaameYaa Boafo, Latoya Edwards, Paige Gilbert, Zainab Jah, Joanna A. Jones, Abena Mensah-Bonsu, Mirirai Sithole and Myra Lucretia Taylor. The creative team includes set design by Arnulfo Maldonado, costume design by Dede Ayite, lighting design by Jen Schriever, sound design by Palmer Hefferan, dialect coaching by Deborah Hecht and casting by Telsey + Company/Adam Caldwell, CSA, William Cantler, CSA, Karyn Casl, CSA. Laura Wilson is the production stage manager and Ayisha Hunt is the stage manager.

Paulina, the reigning queen bee at Ghana’s most exclusive boarding school, has her sights set on the Miss Universe pageant. But the arrival of Ericka, a new student with undeniable talent and beauty, captures the attention of the pageant recruiter—and Paulina’s hive-minded friends. Jocelyn Bioh’s buoyant and biting comedy explores the universal similarities (and glaring differences) facing teenage girls across the globe.

Following the Los Angeles run at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, the MCC production of “School Girls” will have an encore run at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in New York from October 16 through November 25, 2018.