Musings of Fellow Travellers

Posted by cahwyguy

https://cahighways.org/wordpress/?p=17430

When you think of immigrants today — and especially with the narrative coming from the media (including social media) and the images they promote — what comes to mind? I’m guessing primarily “brown” folks, as in folks from Central and South American countries. But the cruelties perpetrated by this administration go beyond just Central and South Americans; they are being perpetrated on any groups currently deemed by the administration as undesirable. Often, that undesirability is based not on violent crimes by these folks, again, as alleged by the administration, but simply based on skin color.

I bring this all up because of the play we saw yesterday afternoon: Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, at the Mark Taper Forum, part of the CTG “One CTG” season.  On the surface, this play seems to be in the vein of a number of somewhat recent movies that focus on the African-American Barbershop/Hair Slot experience, where the shop becomes a community and a family, with regulars and patrons that care about each other. Often, this is because the elaborate styles take multiple hours to create, and what community doesn’t form when you’re talking to someone for 8 hours.

But this play is different, as we rapidly learn that this particular shop has been established by immigrants from Africa. Often, they were leaving abusive marriages. Often, they were leaving family behind while they raise funds and makes themselves a better life. We see how they have worked, sometimes over decades, to build that life. Leaving nations such as Senegal and Sierra Leone to come over and be housekeepers to wealthy white folks. Building up enough funds to open a hair braiding salon (which is long, hard, work). All the while paying taxes, trying to do things legally, with the eventual goal of having that American dream.

Jaja, who owns the salon, is an example of this. She worked hard to open the salon, and on the day the play takes place, she is getting married to her (white) landlord. Her hope is that she will be able to finally become a citizen through this, and send her daughter Marie to a prestigious college to become a doctor.

Marie doesn’t quite want that. She’s working in the shop, not as a stylist, but as essentially the manager. She wants to be a writer, but doesn’t know how to tell her mother. As the play progresses, we learn more about Marie’s dreams. We also learn a lot about the other stylists in the shop: Aminata, Bea, Ndidi, and Miriam. Each has their dreams; each wants to move beyond their upbringing in Africa.

Near the end of the show, we learn that Jaja was grabbed in an ICE sting operation against sham marriages, and has been taken who knows where. The family of the shop bands together to protect Marie, who is scared for her mother and scared they will come after her.

Reading that last paragraph, one would think this play was set in 2025, with the current Trumpian ICE raids. But per the program, this takes place in July 2019. That’s during the first Trump administration, showing that, essentially, we were warned. The issue wasn’t violent crime; and issue wasn’t bad people. The issue was brown and black people, clear racism, and going after people even if they were trying to build the American dream, just as immigrants to this country have been doing since the country started.

So this is truly a timely and relevant play, well written and well performed. It makes us — theatregoers who presumably have the wealth to afford live theatre — realize that these communities are not just distant people on a screen. The people being impacted by the actions of ICE are good, hard-working people, just trying to achieve the American Dream. There are the people that have, and always will make America great. They are not the threats the current administration purports them to be. In bringing audiences to this realization, this play does what good theatre should do: Make people examine their beliefs and to learn and grow.

Performances were uniformly strong. I particularly enjoyed Jordan Rice’s Marie, Bisserat Tseggai’s Miriam, and Abigail C. Onwunali’s Ndidi.

Jaja’s African Hair Braiding closes at CTG/Mark Taper Forum today, November 9. You may be able to purchases tickets for the final evening performance through the CTG website.

ETA: One last note: Watching the stage clock during the production, I learned just how long it takes to do some of these intricate braiding styles, and the pain that it imposes on the stylists. Just imagine being at the hair salon for over 12 hours to get braids done; I can imagine the costs being not only the time, but multiple hundreds of dollars. When I see such styles in the future, I’ll think about the effort these women are going through for their hair. Those of us with Caucasian hair don’t understand black hair culture (I certainly didn’t). The amount spent (remember Madam C. J. Walker made a fortune developing and selling black hair products); the pain and time commitment is remarkable. The battle with respect to black hair continues today: Trump’s effort to ban beards and facial hair is an implicit effort to get black soldiers out of the military, because male black facial hair is often prone to ingrowns and infections, make worse by the close shaving the military requires. I’m sure that similar female hairstyle restrictions are being used to get black women out of the military. In recognitiion of the effort, I added the usually buried credits for the black hairstylists to the credit list.

Credits

Jaja’s African Hair Braiding. Written by Jocelyn Bioh. Directed by Whitney White.

Cast [underscores indicate “at our performance”; strikeouts indicate “not at our performance”; ↑ indicates “swung up”]: Melanie Brezill Michelle / Chrissy / LaNiece; Leovina Charles Donae Swanson Vanessa / Radia / Shiela; Victore Charles Jaja; Mia Ellis Jennifer; Tiffany Renee Johnson Aminata; Claudia Logan Bea; Michael Oloyede James / Franklin / Olu / Eric; Abigail C. Onwunali Ndidi; Jordan Rice Marie; Bisserat Tseggai Miriam; Onye Eme-Akwari Nollywood Dream Actor; Morgan Scott Nollywood Dream Actor. Understudies: Sadé Ayodele Jaja / Bea / Jennifer; Debora Crabbe Miriam / Ndidi / Aminata; Vandous Stripling II James / Franklin / Olu / Eric; ↑ Donae Swanson Marie / Vanessa / Radia / Sheila.

Production and Creative: Jocelyn Bioh Playwright; Whitney White Director; Manna-Symone Middlebrooks Additional Direction; David Zinn Set Design; Dede Ayite Costume Design; Jiyoun Chang Lighting Design; Justin Ellington Sound Design; Nikiya Mathis Wig, Hair, and Makeup Design; Stefania Bulbarella Video Design; Jacqueline Springfield Voice and Dialect Coach; Brillian QiBell Production Stage Manager; Jihee Jenny Park Stage Manager; Erica A. Hart, CSA Casting Director; Kelly Gillespie, CSA Casting; David Caparelliotis, CSA Casting; Aissatou Camara, Lauren Kinermon-Jones Braiders; Mary Gordy Loctician; Joy Paulk Beautician; DuVell’s Studio, Doc the Barber Barbers.

Administrivia

I am not a professional critic. I’m a cybersecurity professional, a roadgeek who does a highway site and a podcast about California Highways, and someone who loves live performance. I buy all my own tickets, unless explicitly noted otherwise. I do these writeups to share my thoughts on shows with my friends and the community. I encourage you to go to your local theatres and support them (ideally, by purchasing full price tickets, if you can afford to do so). We currently subscribe or have memberships at: Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre; Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages Theatre; Pasadena Playhouse; The Soraya, and 5-Star Theatricals. We’re looking for the right intimate theatre to subscribe at — it hasn’t been the same since Rep East died (it’s now The Main, and although it does a lot of theatre, it doesn’t have seasons or a resident company), and post-COVID, most 99-seaters aren’t back to doing seasons (or seasons we like). I used to do more detailed writeups; here’s my current approach.

Upcoming Theatre / Music / ◊ Other Live Performance – Next 90ish Days (⊕ indicates ticketing is pending).

• November:  Paranormal Activity at CTG/Ahmanson;  Suffs at BIH/Pantages;
• December: ◊ ACSAC Conference;  Ben Platt: Live at the Ahmanson at CTG/Ahmanson; Nochebuena: A Christmas Spectacular at The Soraya;  Stereophonic at BIH/Pantages;
• January:  The Notebook at BIH/Pantages;  All the Devils Are Here at The Broad; Tom Chapin @ McCabes.
• February: Applause at MTG;  Amadeus at Pasadena Playhouse;  Anat Cohen at the Soraya;  Preservation Hall Jazz Band at The Soraya.

https://cahighways.org/wordpress/?p=17430