Manhattan Theatre Club will stream its Broadway production of School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play across the run’s final week, November 10–15, with each as-live performance starting at the scheduled curtain time and a 24-hour replay window following it.
The streams are produced by the League of Live Stream Theater (LOLST), the nonprofit that already captured MTC’s Jaja’s African Hair Braiding and Punch. A ticket is $59, of which $9 is a service fee, and it buys one scheduled performance plus its replay on a single device, with captions available. The viewing link arrives by email after purchase.
Eight performances will be streamed:
- Tuesday, November 10 at 7 p.m.
- Wednesday, November 11 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
- Thursday, November 12 at 7 p.m.
- Friday, November 13 at 7 p.m.
- Saturday, November 14 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
- Sunday, November 15 at 2 p.m.
The timing turns the closing week of a limited engagement into the production’s widest audience. Jocelyn Bioh’s comedy, directed by Whitney White, the pairing behind Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, began previews at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on September 8, opened on September 28 and ends its run there on November 15. MTC produces in association with Chase This Productions and Susan Kelechi Watson. The critics’ verdicts are gathered in the News From Broadway review roundup.
“This highly acclaimed production deserves the widest possible audience,” said Chris Jennings, MTC’s executive director, adding that the partnership lets the company reach “communities far beyond New York City.” Jim Augustine, co-founder and executive producer of LOLST, called the play “a vital and universally resonant piece of storytelling that demands to be seen.”
There is a second, free strand aimed at classrooms. Through its Watch Week initiative, running November 2–13, MTC is offering high schools a recorded performance at no cost, together with educational materials and the chance for students to compare their responses with peers elsewhere. According to the company, classrooms representing more than 6,500 students at 70 high schools across the United States have already registered through its Learning and Community Engagement program. Educators can sign up on MTC’s Watch Week page.
Set in 1986 at a boarding school in Aburi, Ghana, the play follows Paulina, the undisputed leader of her circle, whose plans to win the Miss Ghana crown are upended when a transfer student from America arrives just as the pageant recruiter visits. It premiered Off-Broadway at MCC in 2017 and has since had more than 80 regional productions, plus a UK premiere in 2023.
The Broadway company features Lucia Aremu as Ama, Denée Benton as Paulina Sarpong, Patina Miller as Eloise Amponsah, Erin Morton as Nana, Nia Otchere-Sarfo as Gifty, Jordan Rice as Mercy, Jasmine Amy Rogers as Ericka Boafo and Heather Alicia Simms as Headmistress Francis. Seats for the remaining in-person performances are sold through Telecharge.
