Jocelyn Bioh to Star in Her Play School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play on Broadway for Four Performances

Playwright Jocelyn Bioh will join the cast of her play, School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, for four performances. Bioh will step in for Tony winner Patina Miller’s short absence as Eloise Amponsah from October 9-11 at Broadway's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.

Bioh made her Broadway acting debut in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. She appeared off-Broadway in Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Everybody, earning a Lucille Lortel nomination. She made her Broadway playwriting debut with Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, which was nominated for Best Play at the 2024 Tony Awards.

“I felt a great deal of creative energy writing this play while working as an actor on 47th Street, and it feels completely magical to be returning to this same block to perform one of my own characters in School Girls,” Bioh said in a statement. “It’s a privilege to get to follow the inimitable Patina Miller for these four performances, and I am especially excited to join this thrilling company on stage for a few days.”

School Girls stars Lucia Aremu as Ama, Denée Benton as Paulina, Erin Morton as Nana, Nia Otchere-Sarfo as Gifty, Jordan Rice as Mercy, Jasmine Amy Rogers as Ericka and Heather Alicia Simms as Headmistress Francis.

In this bright, biting comedy, becoming Miss Ghana 1986 would mean fame, fortune and prosperity. At least, that’s what Paulina—the queen bee of Aburi Girls Boarding School—believes. When the pageant recruiter comes to school, Paulina and her crew pull out all the stops. But to their surprise, a new transfer student from America kicks the competition into a higher, far more personal gear.

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