MCC Theater offers a benefit performance of Jocelyn Bioh's Lucille Lortel- and Drama Desk Award-winning School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play December 13. Directed by Kamilah Forbes, School Girls streams at 3 PM ET on MCC Theater’s YouTube channel.
The cast features Tony, Emmy, and Grammy winner Cynthia Erivo (The Color Purple, Harriet), Oscar nominee Gabourey Sidibe (Precious), Lovie Simone (The Craft), Shahadi Wright Joseph (The Lion King), Ashleigh Murray (Katy Keane), Tony nominee Da'Vine Joy Randolph (Dolemite Is My Name), Storm Reid (Euphoria), and Lyric Ross (This Is Us).
Sidibe replaced Amber Riley, who had a scheduling conflict prior to the start of rehearsals. Simone replaced Wunmi Mosaku, who sustained an injury and is taking time to recover.
In School Girls 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.
READ: How Mean Girls and a Dearth of Roles Inspired Jocelyn Bioh's School Girls
MCC Theater first produced School Girls in 2017, followed by a return engagement in 2018.
“We’re so thrilled to be bringing this play back for what can now be considered the third and virtual time! We’ve been immensely lucky to have such powerhouse casts and this one is no different,” said Bernie Telsey, co-artistic director, in a recent statement. “This remount will have us bringing together yet another cast of phenomenal women—this time straight to your home. We couldn’t be more excited about the limitless nature the digital realm is allowing us to have for this production.”
A talkback with the cast will follow the performance for select ticket holders.
Tickets are on sale beginning at $30 (performance only) and $50 (performance and talkback). Subscribers are guaranteed $5 tickets that include access to the talkback. School Girls will be available on MCC on demand two weeks after the air date but will not include the talkback. Tickets and subscriptions can be purchased at MCCTheater.org.
