School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play
by Jocelyn Bioh
directed by Whitney White
featuring Lucia Aremu, Denée Benton, Patina Miller, Erin Morton, Nia Otchere-Sarfo, Jordan Rice, Jasmine Amy Rogers, Heather Alicia Simms
ON BROADWAY AT THE
SAMUEL J. FRIEDMAN THEATRE
Performances begin September 8, 2026
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. Arriving on Broadway for the first time nearly a decade after its Off-Broadway premiere, School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play reunites the powerhouse team behind Jaja’s African Hair Braiding—Tony Award-nominated playwright Jocelyn Bioh and Tony Award-nominated director Whitney White—for this bright, biting comedy.
Produced in association with Chase This Productions and Susan Kelechi Watson.
Support for School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play is provided by the Anna L. Weissberger Foundation.
PERFORMANCE CALENDAR
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Cast
Lucia Aremu
Ama
Lucia Aremu is a Nigerian-born actor from Houston, Texas and is thrilled to be making her Broadway debut with School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play! Regional: Cold War Choir Practice (Trinity Rep), Becky Nurse of Salem (Trinity Rep). MFA: Brown/Trinity Rep. Lucia is grateful to God, her family and friends for all their love and support. @luciamadeinnigeria
Denée Benton
Paulina
Denée Benton is a Critics Choice and Tony Award-nominated actress celebrated for her dynamic and commanding performances across screen and stage. She currently stars as Peggy Scott in HBO’s critically acclaimed, Emmy and SAG-nominated series “The Gilded Age,” now in production for its fourth season. Benton received a Critics Choice Award nomination for Supporting Actress for her work on the series, and the internet has dubbed her character Peggy “the people’s princess” for her quiet resilience and trailblazing spirit. Benton’s recent film credits include starring roles in Shatara Michelle Ford’s Dreams in Nightmares, which premiered to critical acclaim at Berlinale 2025, and Tender Thoughts, which premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival. Her talent has also shone in projects such as Richard Curtis’ romantic comedy Genie on Peacock, opposite Melissa McCarthy and Paapa Essiedu, and the independent feature Our Friend alongside Dakota Johnson and Casey Affleck, which premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. She also delivered a memorable performance as Ruby in Lifetime’s award-winning cult classic series “UnREAL.” This fall, Benton will make her exciting return to the stage in School Girls; or, the African Mean Girls Play in September, and will also be featured in two standalone concerts in August and November. She made her Broadway debut as Natasha in Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, earning nominations for the Tony, Drama League, Theatre World, and Lilly Awards, as well as recognition on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list. Her Broadway career showcases remarkable versatility, with standout roles as Eliza in Hamilton, Nabulungi in The Book of Mormon, Susan in tick, tick…BOOM!, and Cinderella in the critically acclaimed Broadway revival of Into the Woods. A sought-after presence in the fashion world, Benton has attended the prestigious Met Gala and has worn custom garments by Prabal Gurung and Bach Mai and has been profiled by The Cut, WWD, and Vogue. She was recently featured in Thom Browne’s FW2025 campaign, and has been seen front row at Marc Jacobs, Diotima, and Kallmeyer shows at New York Fashion Week. A proud graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, Benton continues to captivate audiences with her exceptional range, magnetic stage presence, and dedication to her craft.
Patina Miller
Eloise Amponsah
Patina Miller stars as Raquel “Raq” Thomas in the hit STARZ series “Power Book III: Raising Kanan,” currently airing its fifth and final season. Miller also voices Sera in the acclaimed adult animated musical comedy “Hazbin Hotel,” which premiered in January 2024. In 2022, she made her highly anticipated return to Broadway in the critically acclaimed revival of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Into the Woods, earning rave reviews for her performance as the Witch. She previously played the role in the Hollywood Bowl production in 2019. The production marked her first Broadway appearance in eight years since winning the 2013 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical. For Into the Woods, Miller also received a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album and a nomination for the Distinguished Performance Award at the 89th Annual Drama League Awards. In 2021, Miller appeared in The Many Saints of Newark, the feature-film prequel to “The Sopranos.” She made her feature film debut as Commander Paylor in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014) and reprised the role in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015), starring alongside Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Julianne Moore, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Miller’s acclaimed Broadway career includes a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical, an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical, and a Broadway.com Audience Choice Award. She has also been recognized as a Drama League Award honoree and a Fred and Adele Astaire Award nominee.
Erin Morton
Nana
Broadway debut! Mississippi native, most recently played Martha Dunnstock in the Off-Broadway revival of Heathers The Musical (Lortel and Drama Desk nominations); Thank you to Mom, Dr. Keyona, Makenzy, Cade, Annïe and my Nicolosi & Co. family for their unwavering love and support. @erinlee__
Nia Otchere-Sarfo
Gifty
Nia Otchere-Sarfo just wrapped a recurring guest star on “Murder Bot” for Apple. Nia has been a part of two MOCAP video games for Sony, and is a graduate of USC where she received her BFA in musical theater. Nia had the pleasure of working with 10 AFI directors on their short form content creation class. She will star in all 10 films which will spread throughout the festival season. She also recently starred in Stephen Schwartz’s workshop musical Call Me From The Grave at The Wallis Annenberg. Nia is represented by Thruline and Buchwald.
Jordan Rice
Mercy
Jordan Rice is an actress from Atlanta, GA. She began training at the Youth Ensemble of Atlanta, where she fell in love with all things performing. At age 11, she made her film debut in Ava DuVernay’s Selma. Her recent work includes portraying Marie Ndiaye in the Broadway Tour of Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, which earned her a Helen Hayes Award nomination in 2025. Other notable work of hers includes Jackie Carson in the Apple TV+ Series “Swagger” and Dylan in the rom-com One True Loves. She’s been recognized as a 2024 Southeast Emmy nominee for Talent Performance and a 2020 YoungArts Theatre Winner. Rice is the founder of More To See Productions, LLC, a film and tv production company focused on bringing stories from marginalized communities to the screen. @actressjordanrice
Jasmine Amy Rogers
Ericka
Jasmine Amy Rogers is a Tony Award-nominated actress for her Broadway debut in the titular role in Boop! The Musical, garnering “a star is born” acclaim. She also received Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Theatre World Awards for her performance, along with Drama League and Chita Rivera nominations. She is currently appearing in the revival of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, earning Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, Drama League and Lortel nominations. This spring, she made her Carnegie Hall debut as Ado Annie in Oklahoma! and starred as Queenie in the Encores! production of The Wild Party (Drama League nomination). Regional credits include Jelly’s Last Jam (Pasadena Playhouse), The Wanderer (Paper Mill Playhouse), Becoming Nancy (Alliance Theatre) and the national tour of Mean Girls. Her screen credits include Evil (Paramount+).
Heather Alicia Simms
Headmistress Francis
Heather Alicia Simms was last seen on Broadway in the Tony-nominated hit Purlie Victorious as Missy Judson. Ms. Simms was notably a member of the original cast of the Pulitzer Prize-winning production Fairview which premiered at Soho Rep and later TFANA. She is also very proud of her time at The Signature Theatre under Lynn Nottage’s residency with the plays Fabulation and By The Way, Meet Vera Stark for which she won a 2019 Obie Award. Ms. Simms’ other notable appearances were in the world premiere production of Barbecue (The Public Theater, followed by a production at The Geffen); born bad (Soho Rep); Richard III (NYSF); Trouble in Mind (Hartford Stage); Breath, Boom (Playwrights Horizons); The Correspondent (Rattlestick); The Exonerated (The Culture Project/UK). Select Broadway: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, A Raisin in the Sun. Ms. Simms’ television credits include a recurring role on the CBS series “Sheriff Country,”“Miss Governor,” “The Equalizer,” “The Kings of Napa,”“Swarm,” “Single Drunk Female,” “Marvel’s Luke Cage,”“Bull,” “High Maintenance,” “The Last O.G.,” “Broad City,” “Seven Seconds,” and “Law & Order.” Select film credits include Vampires vs. The Bronx, Red Hook Summer, The Nanny Diaries, and Broken Flowers. She is an award-winning voiceover artist whose work can be heard in various commercials and audiobooks. Awards and Affiliations: Fox Foundation Fellowship Recipient Round 4, Audie Award; The Actors Center; Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Education: Tufts University, B.A., Columbia University, MFA.
Lucia Aremu
Ama
Denée Benton
Paulina
Patina Miller
Eloise Amponsah
Erin Morton
Nana
Nia Otchere-Sarfo
Gifty
Jordan Rice
Mercy
Jasmine Amy Rogers
Ericka
Heather Alicia Simms
Headmistress Francis
Creative
Jocelyn Bioh
Playwright
Jocelyn Bioh (Playwright) is an award-winning, Tony Award-nominated Ghanaian-American writer/performer from New York City. Her most recent work for the theater, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding (MTC), premiered on Broadway in 2023 and earned five Tony nominations, including Best Play, along with nominations from the Drama Desk, Drama League, and Outer Critics Circle. The play launched a multi-city U.S. tour in 2024 and is making its UK debut this month at the Lyric Hammersmith Theater in London. Bioh’s other written pieces include Merry Wives (Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park, PBS Great Performances); Nollywood Dreams (MCC Theater); and the multi-award-winning School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, originally produced at MCC Theater in 2017-18, which has gone on to have over 75 regional productions and premiered in the UK in 2023. Named one of Variety’s 2024 “Screenwriters to Watch,” TV credits include “Russian Doll,” Spike Lee’s “She’s Gotta Have It” (Netflix), “Tiny Beautiful Things” (Hulu), “The Acolyte” (Disney+), and she is writing the live-action film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Once on This Island for Disney. Awards: Creative Capital Award Recipient (2026), Horton Foote Prize (2024), Dramatist Guild Hull-Warriner Prize (2024 and 2018), Steinberg Playwright Award (2020), Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Adaptation (2022), Outer Critics Circle John Gassner Award (2018) Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play (2018), Tow Foundation Playwriting Fellow (2017).
Whitney White
Director
Whitney White (Director). Tony Award nominee, Obie Award and Lilly Award-winning director, writer and performer. Broadway: Liberation, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding,and The Last Five Years. Other: All Is But Fantasy (Royal Shakespeare Company),Walden (Second Stage), Jordans (The Public), Saturday Church (NYTW), The Secret Life of Bees (The Almeida, UK), The Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington (Steppenwolf), Soft (MCC), On Sugarland (New York Theatre Workshop, Lucille Lortel and Drama Desk nominations, Outstanding Direction), Semblance (NYTW), The Amen Corner (Shakespeare Theatre Company), Our Dear Dead Drug Lord (WP Theater, Second Stage), What to Send Up When It Goes Down (The Movement Theatre Company, Woolly Mammoth, A.R.T., The Public Theater). Staff writer: “I’m a Virgo” (Amazon Studios). Writer/performer of Macbeth in Stride (A.R.T., Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Musical Performance by an Actress). Recipient of the Herb Alpert Award, Jerome Fellowship, Susan Stroman Directing Award. Part of the Rolex Protegé and Mentorship Arts Initiative. MFA Acting: Brown University/Trinity Rep, BA: Northwestern University.
Produced in association with
Chase This Productions
Chase This Productions was founded in 2024 by Jessica Chase, an independent producer and creative consultant working across theater, television, and film. Previous productions include the World Premiere of pre-existing condition by Marin Ireland, directed by Maria Dizzia and the US premiere of Strategic Love Play by Miriam Battye, directed by Katie Posner. Previously Jessica launched the commercial theater arm of MG Pics where she served on the Lead Producing Team of the Broadway production of Life of Pi, the co-producing teams of POTUS; Or Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying To Keep Him Alive, and The Piano Lesson. She produced the UK debut of Jocelyn Bioh’s School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play with The Lyric Hammersmith, Francesca Moody Productions, and Idris Elba. Before that Jessica was the Artistic Producer of MCC Theater where she worked from 2011 until 2020, overseeing the development of new work, programming, and production. www.chasethisproductions.com.
Produced in association with
Susan Kelechi Watson
Susan Kelechi Watson is an actor, producer and writer best known for her role as ‘Beth Pearson’ on the NBC series “This is US”. She has received widespread critical acclaim, earning multiple Actor Awards, AFI Awards, and nominations from the NAACP, Critics Choice Association, HCA, and Astra. She is also the recipient of the MLK Game Changer Award and the Gracie Award. Recent stage credits include Blood Quilt (LCT), Good Bones (Public Theater), Eureka Day (The Old Vic) and Merry Wives (Shakespeare in the Park). Her most recent television credits include “The Residence” (Shondaland), “High Potential” (ABC/HULU) and “Will Trent” (ABC). In film, she has starred in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, (Sony Pictures), Between the World and Me (HBO) and will be featured in the upcoming film Don’t Ever Wonder (Macro/Netflix). Susan is an executive producer on Between the World and Me (HBO) and Premature (Sundance/Hulu).
Teresa L. Williams
Scenic Design
Qween Jean
Costume Design
Stacey Derosier
Lighting Design
Cody Spencer
Sound Design
Nikiya Mathis
Wig, Hair and Makeup Design
Dawn-Elin Fraser
Dialect Coach
Caparelliotis Casting & Kelly Gillespie
Casting
Sara Gammage
Production Stage Manager
Jocelyn Bioh
Playwright
Whitney White
Director
Produced in association with
Chase This Productions
Produced in association with
Susan Kelechi Watson
Teresa L. Williams
Scenic Design
Qween Jean
Costume Design
Stacey Derosier
Lighting Design
Cody Spencer
Sound Design
Nikiya Mathis
Wig, Hair and Makeup Design
Dawn-Elin Fraser
Dialect Coach
Caparelliotis Casting & Kelly Gillespie
Casting
Sara Gammage
Production Stage Manager