Banner Image: Joan Marcus

The Off-Broadway theater company MCC keeps putting up homerun after homerun and 2017's School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play was on so many people's Top 10 that year...and it's now streaming online for you to enjoy from the comfort of your own home for free!

This play is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: a comedy about teenage girls at a boarding school in Ghana loosely based on Mean Girls.

5 REASONS IT'S AWESOME:

1. Jocelyn Bioh's writing. In addition to making a name for herself Off-Broadway recently as an actress, Jocelyn is now setting the stage as a playwright with a big, bright future ahead of her, too. Her delicious writing is refreshingly earnest and heartfelt with robust, yet very accessible, characters. She accomplishes that very rare thing of making you laugh and cry at the same time...but, mostly laugh!

2. The cast. There’s been a few small casting changes since the original production last year, but the main crew remains intact. Quite simply, there's something magical about this cast. You won't be able to keep your eyes off of any of them when they’re on the stage, all delivering pitch perfect performances. This group of ladies is so incredibly special. You’ll want to be in their clicque so badly!

3. The Whitney Houston moment. Without ruining the surprise, the girls perform a Whitney Houston song in a ridiculous scene that brings down the house. You'll be doubled over in laughter at and in utter disbelief at how well this moment is pulled off.

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Photos: Craig Schwartz

4. Mirirai Sithole. She's the best. There's a reason we put her in YesBroadway's 2018 40 Under 40. Mirirai shines and sparkles onstage in School Girls, just like she did in The Homecoming Queen. I mean, she won a Lortel (the Off-Broadway Tony Awards!) for her performance in School Girls. She's straight-up magic. Mirirai 4 Prez!

5. Rebecca Taichman's direction. It's no wonder she won a Tony Award® for directing last season's Indecent. Rebecca finds the power in quiet and tender moments behind the main action that make the story robust and full of life without taking away from what's happening front and center. Yes, yes, and more yes to Rebecca Taichman!

School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play can be found on the button below!

Watch now

Photos: We stopped into a rehearsal of the original production in 2017

and asked the cast, director, and playwright:

What would you say to your teenage self right now?

Featured

Paige Gilbert

"Shine bright, girl! Do not dim your light because your shine will encourage other people around you to shine."

Zainab Jah

"Prepare to be surprised. Be open...you never know. There's so much you're going to experience and enjoy."

Jocelyn Bioh, Playwright

"It's pretty simple: You are enough. You got this, girl!"

Nike Kadri

"Don't be afraid to be bold and claim who you are, whatever that means at the time."

MaameYaa Boafo

"Enjoy being a teenager. Enjoy being a kid. Spend time with your family and spend time with your friends. Don't let anyone deter you from who you are because that's whats gonna make you you when you're older."

Nabiyah Be

"Breathe. You know more than you think you know, but also you don't know shit! Listen to yourself...and to your mother a little more."

Rebecca Taichman, Director

"It's gonna be okay. Don't take it so hard. Let it roll off, let it roll off. Give yourself a little love and a little tenderness and a little faith that this, too, shall change."

Abena Mensah-Bonsu

"Don't be so hard on yourself. You're doing it right! Also, you should definitely listen to your mom more."

Myra Lucretia Taylor

"One word: Relax!"

Mirirai Sithole

"There will be many ups and there will be many downs, but the valleys make the peaks worth it. You wouldn't be who you are without all of the good and the bad and it's going to be AOK."